Jackie's Bat

by Marybeth Lorbiecki, Brian Pinkney (Illustrator)

EXTRA
Superstars hit the big leagues! Two-time Caldecott Honor artist Brian Pinkney and award-winning author Marybeth Lorbiecki take the field in this carefully crafted, fictionalized account of how Jackie Robinson broke through professional baseball's color barrier.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Picture Books, Sports, Childrens, Cultural, Historical, Baseball

40 pages, Hardcover

First published January 3, 2006

Reviews

[Michael Enright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jackie's Bat tells the story of the first African American baseball player in the Major Leagues, Jackie Robinson. The picture book details the struggles that Jackie Robinson faced during his career due racism from people that did not want blacks playing in the same league as whites. This book also tells the story of the bat boy for the Brooklyn Dodgers, who was white and treated Jackie horribly in the beginning because of his racist upbringing. Through the story the fans and the bat boy grow to respect Jackie and treat as they would anyone else.

This book gives an interesting perspective of what it would be like growing up as a white child during segregation. This bat boy in the story is influenced by his family and others to treat Jackie differently just because he is African American without fully understanding why. It teaches the readers a valuable lesson that if you open up and talk with people you discover that race or religion has no effect on a persons character.

One picture book that I would pair with Jackie's Bat would be The Other Side and this is because they share a common theme of segregation and how it should not exists.

Social Injustice- Jackie's Bat can be used to educate students about segregation and especially the difficulty that African American athletes had breaking the color barrier in professional sports.

[Nicole E · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great historical fiction book for young/intermediate readers. This story is told thru the perspective of a bat boy, Joey, and his story with Jackie Robinson. Joey at the beginning does not talk to Jackie because of his skin color. This book exposes recall issues to it's readers. By the end of the story Joey learns that skin color, is just that- skin color. It doesn't define how good or bad at something you can be because of the color of ones skin. I would encourage all readers to read this historical fiction book. The tone in the illustrations change as Joey becomes more friendly with Jackie. This is a great book, the illustrations are done so well to bring the whole story together.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This picture book is a fictionalized account of Jackie Robinson through the eyes of a Los Angeles Dodgers bat boy. I appreciate the end notes from the author and the treatment that she gave to the telling of Jackie Robinson's story. Marybeth Lorbiecki said that she consulted with Jackie's wife, Rachel, to verify that the character that she created was similar to the real-life Jackie Robinson.

I would front-load Jackie's Bat by telling students of pre-Civil Rights era U.S., Jim Crow laws, the Negro Leagues, and about Jackie himself. This is just one story about Jackie Robinson, so it would be helpful to point out that he spoke out against racism and spoke for civil rights, even before become a Dodger.

Great read-aloud for 3rd grade and up.

[Emily McKnight · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary: We all know the story of Jackie Robinson, a good baseball player right? This is a fictional, though elementally factual, telling of how Jackie Robinson became a name of fame.

Personal Response: Names as famous as Jackie Robinson, especially in sports, will forever ring in the ears of young children. This is a great example of books that teach kids the stories of the names they hear from older generations. All too often people forget, younger generations have yet to experience the things we have.

[Danielle Andino · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grade level(s): K-3
Original summary: Fictionalized account of how Jackie Robinson broke through the color barrier in professional baseball.
Original review: Books that talk about important people in American history in a light way to inform students like I think are wonderful.
Uses: I think this book could be used as an example when talking about segregation and the ways people broke barriers in American History.

[Jordan Pierre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Joey is the batboy for the 1947 Brooklyn Dodgers, and he is unsure of how to deal with Jackie Robinson. His father says that a white boy shouldn’t have to serve a black man. So he doesn’t shine Jackie’s shoes, and he ignores his requests. As the season progresses, Joey notes the changing reactions of Jackie’s teammates, players on the other teams and the fans around the league, both black and white. He comes to admire and cheer Jackie’s patience and talent and to respect him as a man.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story of Jackie Robinson breaking through professional baseball's color barrier told from a young bat boy's perspective.

[Chappyfamily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story, I think there are better story telling s of Jackie Robinson. And so I only gave it 4 stars.

[Nichole · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting perspective-- a bat boy who initially doesn't want to work for Jackie.

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good introduction to Jackie Robinson and a gentle introduction to the racism he faced.

[Claire Kirchgessner]

Jackie's Bat is an amazing, emotional historical fictional book. I would reccomend this book for intermediate readers. The story goes through a baseball season from the perspective of Joey, a batboy for the Dodgers. Joey is a little white boy in a time where racial issues were still very much a struggle. In the beginning of the season, Joey doesn't speak to Jackie, because Jackie is black and that's what he is taught. Throughout the season, Jackie begins to excel, and his and Joey's interactions become increasing. By the end of the story, Joey learns that skin color shouldn't matter, that Jackie Robinson is a person just like him, and people who think otherwise are less of a man.

[Amanda V · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is a great recount of the first season of Jackie Robinson and the obstacles that he faced as being an African American playing in an otherwise all-white professional baseball league. The story is told through the perspective of a white boy, who at first did not want to talk with Jackie because of his color, but learns how skin color really means nothing when it comes to Jackie's love for the game and personality. A great way to show kids the steps towards ending segregation in the United States and the wonderful accomplishments of African Americans, especially in the quest for rights.

[Debbie Hayes-miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

CIP summary: " Joey, the batboy for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, learns a hard lesson about respect for people of different races after Jackie Robinson joins the team."

This was a great book that emphasizes the prejudices that faced Jackie Robinson during his lifetime. He lived through insults, injuries, and threats but continued to break records and win games for his team. The story is told through the eyes of a young batboy who doesn't even want to look at him in the beginning but turns out to be an admiring fan in the end.

[Liz Meschewski · Rating 3 out of 5]

This historical fiction is told in the perspective of a bat boy for the Brooklyn Dodgers. During this time he meet Jackie Robinson and learns to not be discriminating against those of a different race. The major themes of this book are baseball and discrimination. I believe this book is best suited for grades 4-6. This was a cool way to read about the story of Jackie Robinson because it was in the perspective of a young boy who loves baseball but is still learning about racism during this time.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story that talks about the life of Jackie Robinson through the eyes of his bat boy. The bat boy begins the story with a prejudiced view of Jackie Robinson; however, changes his tune by the end of the story. Although I didn't care for the illustrations, this story will especially appeal to baseball lovers.

[Jane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Brian Pinkney's illustrations here are gorgeous, but beware that the story narrative is that of a white point of view of racism and where a chromatic/non-white/person of color become okay because they are validated by a white person. I'm still susceptible to these kind of stories though and was teary-eyed when I read it.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book shows the transition of mind sets that people had about Africans Americans during the Civil Rights Movement through a story about Jakie Robinson. It's a good book to use when showing the way that Caucasians used to think about African Americans and how that mindset was proved wrong by people like Jackie.

[Lucius · Rating 4 out of 5]

Speaks about some of the challenges that Jackie Robinson had to face in his first year in MLB. Doesn't pull punches simply because it's a kids book.

Although told from the perspective of a fictional bat boy in 1947, this book is good because it pulls few punches. It tells about the tribulations that Jackie Robinson went through during his first year in the big leagues.

[Bethann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would love to own this book, mainly because of the children who have a hard time getting into books. There are often boys who do not like to read, and giving them something to read about sports may help the situation.

[Ellie Dietzen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book one story of Jackie Robinson. The book teaches children the story of Jackie and also the lesson that we need to treat others equally. This is an inspiring book especially for children who may be interested in sports specifically baseball.

[Darian Schwerdtfeger · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well written kids story about Jackie Robinson. I found it very easy to follow and good for kids to learn about Jackie in his earlier days. I loved that the bat boy represented all white folks and how his view of jackie changed throughout the story.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

2011 Author/Illustrator visit: Brian Pinkney
Read aloud: 1-3

[Ms. B · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful picture book about Jackie Robinson. A good one for teachers looking for a book to support their Daily 5 goal of Expand Vocabulary.

[Brandy Gilbertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very good story about Jackie Robinson. The author really adds character through the quotations and use of grammar and language. The book also has a very nice afterword.

[Brittney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great historical fiction book about baseball.

[Megen · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is a historical fiction book about Jackie Robinson's career in baseball.

[Erica Hendrickson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story! Told from a child's perspective, discusses discrimination.

*textbook

[Jonathan Spores · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joey loves going to baseball games with his dad. He is even the bat boy for the Brooklynn Dodgers. He meets Jackie Robinson who is a nice guy. Joey finds it weird that he, a white boy is working for a black man. Jackie faces ridicule and nasty racial comments in s first year, even though he is a rising superstar. During a game, a fan gives Joey a present that she wants Jackie to have. This makes Joey jealous, although he ends up doing the right thing and saying it is not his gift. Joey then tells Jackie he knows what it means to be a real man, because the fans out there don't. This is a fun book that introduces racism to young kids. This is based off a true story as well. There is a strong theme of integrity in this book. Jackie tells Joey at the beginning of the story that the fans who are racist, aren't real men. This sticks with Joey who uses that sense of integrity to not take credit for the fan's gift. This was a pretty good children's book about racism and what it means to have honesty and integrity. Great read!

[Kennedy Coy]

Summary: We all know the story of Jackie Robinson, a good baseball player right? This is a fictional, though elementally factual, telling of how Jackie Robinson became a name of fame.

Personal Response: Names as famous as Jackie Robinson, especially in sports, will forever ring in the ears of young children. This is a great example of books that teach kids the stories of the names they hear from older generations. All too often people forget, younger generations have yet to experience the things we have.