Jackie Robinson

School Library Journal

Gr 6 Up-Of the multitude of juvenile biographies of Robinson that have been published over the past few years, Weidhorn's book is probably the most comprehensive. Unfortunately, a lack of source notes keeps readers from finding out where the author garnered his information. While Robinson's athletic accomplishments are given their due respect, they justly play an introductory role to the social significance of his being the first black to play major league baseball. The ripple effect felt throughout the country after the racial barrier was broken in ``America's pastime'' is nicely brought to light here. While the ball player is generally portrayed as the hero he was to many, readers are also exposed to his human side, especially in the details of the last few years of his life, which found him embittered over the plight of African Americans in both baseball and society as a whole. An eight-page black-and-white photo section is inserted in the middle of the book.-Tom S. Hurlburt, La Crosse Public Library, WI

Sheilamae O'Hara

The saga of Jackie Robinson, who integrated baseball in 1947 and went on to become one of the all-time great players, has been told and retold. Weidhorn devotes the first nine chapters to letting us know the boy, the man, and the athlete before we see the major-league star. He details the care Branch Rickey took in choosing just the right man to break the color barrier and the meticulous timing of the event. He portrays Robinson as someone whose intelligence and self-discipline equaled his athletic talents, and who " made the Dodgers closer by his suffering and made them better by his ability." Yet this Robinson is no plaster saint. "There was something of the stern, puritan father, the teacher, or the drill sergeant about him. It made him a leader of men and a pioneer. It also made him a huge pain in the neck." There is an adequate number of black-and-white photographs, and suggested further reading is appended. Is there a need for yet another Jackie Robinson book? Yes. This one.