Jackie Robinson: Baseballs Great Pioneer (Graphic Biographies)

Description

A biography telling the personal life and baseball career of the legendary player, Jackie Robinson. Written in graphic-novel format.

Bob Lentz is an art director who has designed and illustrated many successful books for children. In his spare time, he likes to talk about food while eating. Bob lives in Bloomington, Minnesota with his wife and son, where they go for long walks, sing old-timey songs, and eat ice cream with too many toppings. Cynthia Martin has worked in comics and animation since 1983. Her credits include Star Wars, Spider-Man, and Wonder Woman for Marvel Comics and DC Comics, in addition to work as a storyboard artist for Sony Children's Entertainment and the Krislin Company. Cynthia's recent projects include an extensive series of graphic novels for Capstone Press and two issues of Blue Beetle for DC Comics. She also illustrated the book Alley of Shadows, published by Stone Arch Books.

Each of the Graphic Library titles presents a short introduction to the chosen topic. The books use bright comic-type illustrations to capture the interest of the reader. Although all aspects of the historical topic or person's life are not addressed, the books do provide basic information. Direct quotations from primary sources are included in each book and an index is provided. The books would be useful in schools that have ESL programs or with students who have learning disabilities.-- "Pennsylvania School Librarians Association" Jackie Robinson was born in Georgia but his mother soon moved her family to California where she hoped she would be able to give her little son a better life, a life that was not clouded by the misery of segregation and racism. Jackie grew up to be an active boy. Like so many others young boys he wanted to fit in, and for a while he was a member of a gang. Thankfully he had family and friends who encouraged him to take up sports and soon he was too busy, and too successful, to get into trouble. As a young man Jackie decided to become a professional football player, hoping that this was a career in which the color of his skin would not matter as much. Then Pearl Harbor in Hawaii was attacked and Jackie was drafted into the army. He soon discovered that it was not easy being an African-American in the armed forces and he fought hard against the unfair treatment that he and his fellow soldiers were forced to live with. Eager to get out of the army, Jackie decided to try a career in baseball. Once again he found that he had to battle against racism on a regular basis. This time however, Jackie did not back down or give up. This time Jackie was determined to show the world that an African-American could and should be allowed to play on any team in the country. This inspiring story is a favorite with baseball fans and this graphic novel format will make the story of how Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in the world of baseball very accessible to young readers.-- "Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Review" Robinson's parents were sharecroppers in the segregated south. His mother, Mallie, decided that Georgia was not the place where she wanted to raise her five children. At the urging of her half-brother she moved to Pasadena, California. When Robinson was a teenager, he got into trouble while in a gang. Through the guidance of Rev. Karl Downs he was steered into sports. Years later, when he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, he referred to his delinquent days and urged others who felt that life is against them to strive for a better life. After college and the military, he played baseball with the Monarchs, the best team in the Negro American League. Branch Rickey, the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers, hired Robinson to play in the white major leagues. As a child I remember going to Ebbets field with my father to see the Brooklyn Dodgers play. I was then and still am a Brooklyn Dodger fan. (Boy! Was I upset when they moved to Los Angeles.) I was living in the same city--Stamford, Connecticut--when Jackie Robinson died. The illustrations are colorful and the book is referred to as a "Graphic Biography." The text is easy to read and quotations from primary sources are indicated by a yellow background.-- "Children's Literature Comprehensive Database" This nonfiction series for grades three through nine is unique in its format, which is more typical of the very popular graphic novels for children and teens. The easy-to-read text and vivid full-color illustrations by Phil Miller, Tod Smith, and Charles Barnett II feature appealing characters that will encourage young readers to learn about history. In these four volumes all the subjects are famous African Americans and Latinos whose adventures will appeal especially to preteen and young teenage boys. They include labor leader Chavez, the first African American to play in modern major league baseball, the great explorer of the North Pole, and a couple whose spectacular escape from slavery (and their account of it) captured the imagination of nineteenth-century abolitionists. Each volume offers a table of contents, controlled vocabulary, quotations from primary sources, short and direct sentence structure, and precise photo-text matches to aid comprehension. Also included are a glossary, a bibliography, Internet sites, and an index.-- "Multicultural Review" Those wanting the chronology and facts regarding Robinson's rise to world recognition will enjoy this book that outlines his life through the significant events that occurred.-- "Library Sparks"