The United States v. Jackie Robinson by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie

-
 
Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen begins The United States v. Jackie Robinson, "Long before anyone heard of Rosa Parks, a guy named Jack refused to move to the back of the bus. And like Rosa, Jack made history, too." Adding yet another superlative picture book biography to the shelves, Bardhan-Quallen and illustrator R. Gregory Christie share the story of Jack Robinson and his fight against segregation and discrimination before he became the national hero, American icon and baseball star, Jackie Robinson.
The United States v. Jackie Robinson begins with Jack's childhood in Pasadena, CA, where the Robinsons were the only Black family on their street. White neighbors even started a petition to get the Robinsons to leave, but Jack's mother, Mallie refused to leave, teaching her children to stand up for what was right, even when it was difficult to do.


A natural athlete, Jack was recruited by UCLA, becoming the first person in the history of the college to earn varsity letters in four different sports. Joining the army after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Jack experienced segregation on a daily basis, alternately being told he could only play for the non-existent "colored" baseball team at Fort Riley and that he could be commanded to play for the football team. In 1944, the army issued an order forbidding segregation on military posts and Jack soon learned that just because the army gave an order didn't mean that everyone respected it.

On July 6, 1944, Jack boarded a bus while stationed at Fort Hood and did not sit in the back. Jack was courtmartialed and listened as the prosecution witnesses took the stand and lied about Jack, painting the picture of a defiant, disrespectful soldier. When Jack's commanding officers took the stand, the truth emerged and Jack won, becoming one of the first Black Americans to challenge a segregation law in court and win.

The United States v. Jackie Robinson hooks readers with a name they are (hopefully) already familiar with, adding depth and layers to the fight for civil rights fought by Jackie Robinson and so many other's committed to equality. Back matter includes an author's note, a timeline and a bibliography.


 Source: Review Copy


Popular posts from this blog

Fox + Chick: The Sleepover and Other Stories by Sergio Ruzzier

-
Image
Fox + Chick : The Sleepover and Other Stories  by Sergio Ruzzier Review Copy from Chronicle Books Friends. Opposites. Inhabitants of a pastel-hued, water color world that is vaguely surreal, Fox and Chick are back for a third installment of their inviting, if curious, easy-to-read stories. In "The Sleepover," "The Hammer," and "The Surprise," Chick's odd logic is once again upending Fox's life. Happily, Fox responds with patience and even wisdom at times. To these unforgettable characters and luminous illustrations, Ruzzier brings a sublime simplicity that makes this series perfect for emerging readers, adding books with character and intelligence to the often dull world of beginning reader books. If you aren't familiar with this delightful duo, definitely check out my reviews of the first two books (links below) where I put the greatness of Ruzzier's work into historical ( Frog & Toad ) context. Then check out ALL of Ruzzier's p
Read more

Be a Tree! by Maria Gianferrari illustrated by Felicita Sala

-
Image
Be a Tree! by Maria Gianferrari illustrated by Felicita Sala Review Copy from Abrams Kids I picture-walked Be a Tree! three times before I actually read the words. Felicita Sala's illustrations for Maria Gianferrari's poetic text are mesmerizingly immersive and richly colorful within a palette of earth tones. Throughout the text, Gianferrari, who shares her inspiration for this book in the author's note ( Peter Wohleben's The Hidden Life of Trees ), gently maintains the human connection to trees and the connections (and communications) trees share with each other.  Be a Tree!  begins exuberantly, inviting the reader to "Be a tree! Stand tall. Stretch your branches to the sun. Let your roots curl, coil in the soil to ground you." From your spine/trunk to your skin/bark and your heart/pith, the words carry you inward and then zoom outward and up to the canopy and ultimately, the forest. "You are one of many trees," and our roots "twine with fung
Read more

Reading Levels: A Quick Guide to Determining if a Book Is Right for Your Reader

-
Image
While I wrote an article titled Reading Levels: How I Assign Reading Levels to Books, How the Publishers Do It and How You Can Help Your Reader Find the Right Book at the Right Time that discusses how reading levels are determined by professionals and amateurs like myself, there is more on this subject to discuss. Determining the reading level of a book from the children's section is never easy, mostly because there are several different standardized methods of determining reading levels. Add to this the fact that knowing their children's reading level is most often the only tool a parent is armed with when exploring the bookstore, library, website, etc, and the job becomes even more difficult. While I think that knowing a child's reading level is a very valuable tool if your child is reading below grade level, I think that it is a secondary consideration when finding books for children reading above, especially well above, grade level because, in most cases, content app
Read more