Dad, Jackie, And Me [Hardcover]

Myron Uhlberg (Author), Colin Bootman (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 6 and up | Grade Level: 1 and up

"It was Opening Day, 1947. And every kid in Brooklyn knew this was our year. The Dodgers were going to go all the way!"

It is the summer of 1947 and a highly charged baseball season is underway in New York. Jackie Robinson is the new first baseman for the Brooklyn Dodgers-and the first black player in Major League Baseball. A young boy shares the excitement of Robinson's rookie season with his deaf father.

Each day he listens eagerly to the Brooklyn Dodgers games on the radio. When his father arrives home from work, the boy uses sign language to tell him about the Dodgers. His father begins to keep a scrapbook, clipping photos and articles about Jackie. Finally one day the father delivers some big news: they are going to Ebbets Field to watch Jackie play in person!

Author Myron Uhlberg offers a nostalgic look back at 1947, and pays tribute to Jackie Robinson, the legendary athlete and hero who brought a father and son-and an entire New York community-together for one magical summer. Illustrator Colin Bootman's realistic, full-color illustrations capture the details of the period and the excitement of an entire city as Robinson helps the Dodgers win the long-awaited pennant.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-5–Like The Printer (Peachtree, 2003), this story is based on Uhlberg's experiences growing up as a hearing child of deaf parents. The tale is set in Brooklyn in 1947, where a young Dodger fan eagerly anticipates the much-heralded addition of Jackie Robinson to his team's lineup. Surprisingly, the narrator's deaf father is interested too; he has recognized his own struggle for respect and acceptance mirrored in Robinson's triumph. The two begin attending games and keep a scrapbook of newspaper clippings about the first baseman. Though baseball and Robinson are at the heart of this story, its strength lies in its depiction of the bond between father and son. It is evident that their relationship is characterized by respect and tenderness, though, at the ballpark, the boy is at first embarrassed when his father's awkward cheer causes other fans to stare. The page design resembles a scrapbook, with actual newspaper clippings on the endpapers. Bootman's lovely watercolor paintings add detail and wistful nostalgia. Baseball fans may be disappointed with the narrative's slow pace and the fact that Robinson is little more than an iconic figure, but others will appreciate the story's insightful treatment of deafness as viewed through the eyes of a child.–Marilyn Taniguchi, Beverly Hills Public Library, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 2--4, younger for reading aloud. Following in the tradition of Bette Bao Lord's n the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson (1984), about a young Chinese immigrant to Brooklyn in 1947 who identifies with the travails of the rookie Dodger first baseman, Uhlberg tells another story of an outsider who feels a bond with Robinson. This outsider, though, is a real-life figure, the author's deaf father, who saw in the African American Robinson's stoic endurance of prejudice on and off the field a parallel to his own experience as a deaf man. It takes the young Uhlberg, narrator of the story, a while to overcome his embarrassment at his father's attempts to cheer for Robinson ("AH-GEE, AH-GEE," the deaf man yells from the Ebbetts Fields grandstand, attempting to say Jackie), but eventually Dad's devotion wins the day in a moving finale. Colin Bootman, who earned a Coretta Scott Honor Award for Almost to Freedom (2003), uses evocative watercolors rich in soft browns and lush greens to capture both the feel of the 1940s (fedora-wearing fans) and the electricity of Robinson's play. Bill Ott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 6 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Peachtree Pub Ltd (J) (March 30, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1561453293
• ISBN-13: 978-1561453290
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 9.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #945,904 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Myron rocks!, March 5, 2005

By 

Mom Bo1 "Nancy" (Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dad, Jackie, And Me (Hardcover)

"Dad, Jackie, and Me" is a fabulous story about a father and a son, about prejudice and triumph. Myron Uhlberg subtly creates a parallel between the unfair discrimination against his father for being deaf and Jackie Robinson for being African-American. This is a touching book with lovely illustrations...not to mention so many dimensions for a classroom teacher to explore with students! Plus, I met Myron today, and he is one of THE most warm, friendly, wonderful authors I have ever met. I give him and his works my most glowing praise!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beating prejudice with strong character, May 6, 2007

By 

Camilla Lynn Scott (Toronto, ON Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dad, Jackie, And Me (Hardcover)

This is my new favorite book. Myron Uhlberg's beautiful picture book connects the plight of suffering racial discrimination with being subjected to prejudice for having a disability. It connects the famous with the common. It will tear at your heart, and hopefully open it to know that change is possible; although often slow and painful. The inside cover is filled with primary resource news clippings from Jackie Robinson's career, making the historical piece all the more tangible to grasp. The author's note at the back of the book pulls it all together, and reveals why this was a book that had to be written. I recommend it for ages 8 to 108.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great author, February 20, 2005

By 

Story Lady (Calif.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dad, Jackie, And Me (Hardcover)

Myron Uhlberg is a prolific author, having published 7 books after his 65th birthday. He has many others in the works. He choses his words carefully and meaningfully. Most of the storyline is based on some aspect of his life, having been raised by 2 deaf parents. He builds a sense of deep, caring for the characters which will connect you to them. The illustrator has done an excellent job of capturing the essence of the storyline.