Teammates [Library Binding]

Peter Golenbock (Author), Paul Bacon (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1998

This is the moving story of how Jackie Robinson became the first black player on a major league baseball team and how on a fateful day in Cincinnati, PeeWee Reese took a stand and declared Jackie his teammate.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Set in 1947, Teammates concerns a little-known episode about Brooklyn Dodgers' second baseman Jackie Robinson and the integration of baseball. When Dodgers shortstop Pee Wee Reese, incensed by the abuse coming from a Cincinnati crowd, determined to "take a stand," he put an arm around his teammate's shoulder; this simple gesture symbolized the end of the "color line" in major league baseball--and the beginning of a great friendship. The book's appropriately ironic beginning talks of a time "when automobiles were black and looked like tanks and laundry was white and hung on clotheslines to dry." Golenbock then introduces the Negro Leagues, enumerates the many differences between them and the Major Leagues, and credits Dodger general manager Branch Rickey with finding "one special man" who would exemplify great ballplaying and thereby eradicate the prejudices of the fans. Golenbock's bold and lucid style distills this difficult issue, and brings a dramatic tale vividly to life. Bacon's spare, nostalgic watercolors, in addition to providing fond glimpses of baseball lore, present a haunting portrait of one man's isolation. Historic photographs of the major characters add interest and a touch of stark reality to an unusual story, beautifully rendered. Ages 6-9.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 6-- Golenbock has taken a single moment of baseball history, set it in its social context, and created a simple and moving tribute to courage and brotherhood. While other biographies of Robinson, and Robinson himself in I Never Had It Made (Putnam, 1972; o.p.), set the incident in Boston, Golenbock places it in Cincinnati, near Reese's Kentucky home. The event occurred during Jackie Robinson's first season with the Dodgers. Listening to the hatred that spilled out of the stands, Pee Wee Reese left his position at shortstop, walked over to Robinson at first base, put his around Robinson's shoulder, chatted for a few moments, and then returned to his position. The crowd was stunned into silence. Bacon has illustrated the book with an effective blend of photographs and drawings. Golenbock briefly but clearly describes the background of Robinson's entry into the National League, as well as Reese's background as a southerner and as the player with the most to fear if Robinson were successful--both men were shortstops (although Robinson would ultimately play second base). There have been several recent books about Robinson for young readers, such as David Adler's Jackie Robinson: He Was the First (Holiday, 1989) and Jim O'Connor's Jackie Robinson and the Story of All-Black Baseball (Random, 1989), but none of them have the style or dramatic impact of Golenbock and Bacon's work. This is a wonderful and important story, beautifully presented, but the geographic confusion is disturbing. --Elaine Fort Weischedel, Turner Free Library, Randolph, MA
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Library Binding: 32 pages
• Publisher: Heinemann Library (September 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0817240926
• ISBN-13: 978-0817240929
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.2 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,939,670 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A few brave men, July 3, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Teammates (Hardcover)

This book is a true story that vividly describes the era of baseball and the scoial climate of race relations in the early 1940's. The Brooklyn Dodgers were the first Major Leauge Baseball team to hire an African American. Branch Rickey of the Dodgers was looking for "a man strong enough not to fight back". Jackie Robinson was of course that man and it was known as the "Great Experiment". It was tough for Jackie who ws not well recieived by many whites, including his teammates. One teammate was different, he knew he should always do what is right even if everyone around him including family or friends felt differently, that man was Pewee Reese. This book looks at how racism affected many aspects of society and how the strength of one indidual can change many attitudes. There is a variety of mediums used for the illustrations that only enhance the book.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brooklyn Dodger Teammates: Jackie Robinson & Pee Wee Reese, April 1, 2002

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Teammates (Paperback)

"Teammates" tells the story of one of the more moving moments in the history of baseball that occurred during the 1947 season when the Brooklyn Dodgers traveled to Crosley Field in Cincinnati to play the Reds. Jackie Robinson, the first black man to play in the major leagues, was playing first base and being the target of hostility and abuse from the fans. At shortstop was Harold "Pee Wee" Reese, who born in the South, but who had refused to join other Southerners on the team in signing a petition to kick Jackie off the team. That day in Cincinnati, Reese did something that remains one of the bright moments of that historic season and which deserves to be more than a minor footnote in baseball history.

"Teammates" is written by Peter Golenbock, who heard the story of what happened that day from Rex Barney, who pitched for the Dodgers that day. Usually when the story of Jackie Robinson breaking the "color line" in baseball, the other key person in the story is Branch Rickey, the Dodger general manager. But Rickey could only support Robinson from the front office and not on the field, where it was Pee Wee Reese who decided to do something about that. Consequently, it is Reese who emerges as the hero of this particular story. Certainly it is safe to assume that anyone who reads this book knows something about Jackie Robinson; Golenbock talks about how Rickey needed somebody special to be the first, but does not get into the reasons why Robinson was that man (e.g., All-American football star at U.C.L.A., Army officer). But clearly "Teammates" is not intended to be the first book a youngster reads about the story of Jackie Robinson. Paul Bacon, as he did for the exquisite "Susanna of the Alamo," does both the design and illustration for this volume, combining historic photographs and items with his own watercolor paintings to tell the story.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the hardship in baseball, June 17, 2003

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Teammates (Paperback)

Teammates

Teammates is about 2 men named
Pees wee Reese and Jackie Robinson. Both of them were baseball players on the same
Team called the dogers. Pee wee
Reese was white and Jackie rob-
Inson was black. They were both
Friends and helped each other out. The players on their team
Came mostly from the south, men
Had been taught to avoid black
People since childhood. They moved to another table
Whenever Jackie sat down next
To them. Many opposing players
Were cruel to Jackie, calling him mean names from their
Dugouts. A few tried to hurt
Him with their spiked shoes.
It was bad for Jackie. Pitchers
Aimed for his head, and he
Received threats on his life,
Both from individuals and from
Oramizations like the Ku Klux
Klan. Jackie avoided all of it,
And made the team. Jackie and
Pee wee became really great
Friends and baseball legends.