I feel like this book was successful because it told the story of the first African American baseball player in the leagues. I loved reading this book because the plot was very well organized and written. This made the book very easy to follow and understand. I also liked the pictures in the book because they helped me view how the characters were feeling in the book. ( )

Summary:
This is a book that tells about the life of Jackie Robinson. It tells about his poor childhood as well as the many trials he had to go through to become the first African American to play baseball in the majors.
Personal Reaction:
I learned a lot more about Jackie Robinson other then him playing baseball. This book is very informative on the life of Jackie Robinson.
Classroom Extension Ideas:
After reading this book to the students in my class I would ask them to write about a time that they worked really hard to achieve something.
Another idea would to be to as the students to create their own picture book about the life of Jackie Robinson.

Jackie Robinson overcame many obstacles despite growing up very poor. His grandfather was a slave and his parents were share croppers. His father left and never returned. During his childhood, Blacks were treated very poorly and were segregated. Despite all this, Jackie was an outstanding athlete in track and field, football, basketball, and baseball. At UCLA, he was the first student to star in 4 sports. He left college just before graduation to help his mother. He was later drafted into the army for World War II. He persuaded Joe Louis (heavy weight boxing champion of the world) to campaign for the right of African-Americans to join officer candidate school. He continued to play baseball in the negro league until he approached by the Brooklyn Dodgers. Jackie Robinson is very significant because he became the first African American to play in the major leagues. In some cities, Jackie could not stay in the same hotels as his white teammates nor eat at the same restaurants. While Jackie played for the Dodgers the team won six National League pennants, and then in 1955, the Dodgers were major-league baseball's world champions. Jackie Robinson went on as one of the best players in baseball, he was the first African- American inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame. He was a gifted athlete, but it was his courage more than his ability to play baseball that made him truly great. Being the first African-American to play baseball was an important step toward equal rights. ( )

A Picture Book of Jackie Robinson is a good introduction his life. I would have liked it more if it mentioned how the players on his own team felt about him as well as what African American fans of baseball thought. The book does mention that he is not the first African American baseball player to play on a white team. Students in a history class could then research Bud Fowler. I was confused when it said Robinson spoke to Joe Louis, and then a few days later African Americans were admitted to officer candidate school. I am not sure if that means Joe Louis talked to someone to make this happen after Jackie told him about the problem. I am also confused as to why he was court martialed for not moving to the back of the bus if separate seating was not allowed on an army bus anymore. He was found innocent at the trial, but shouldn't the bus driver have gotten in trouble and not him? Overall, this book is a good biography of Jackie Robinson's life, but there are parts that are missing and confusing. ( )

When someone hears the name Jackie Robinson, the first thing that usually comes to mind is baseball. After reading this book, I learned a lot more about Jackie Robinson than that he was the first African-American major league baseball player. Jackie Robinson played an important role in bringing equal rights for all Americans. He went through a lot in life to get him where he ended up but I'm happy he was finally awarded and recognized for all his hard work. He had to face lots of discrimination to get to where he ended up but he never let anyone bring him down. Not only was he active in the efforts to get equal rights for African-Americans, but he also helped establish the Freedom National Bank in New York CIty. I believe this book will inspire young kids to do what they believe in and never let anyone tell them they can't do something because of their skin color, body image, etc. ( )