42 Is Not Just a Number: The Odyssey of Jackie Robinson, American Hero

Rappaport (Elizabeth Started All the Trouble) uses personal vignettes to bring to vivid life the story of the first man to break the color barrier in Major League Baseball. Grabbing readers’ attention with lines such as, “It was 3:00 a.m., but no one in the Robinson family was sleeping,” Rappaport pulls them in close to witness events that shaped baseball great Jackie Robinson. From a racist encounter with a neighbor at age eight to his time spent in the U.S. Army and the Negro Leagues, 21 short chapters tell a story of courage, self-control, and perseverance. One chapter excerpts poignant fan letters sent during Jackie’s first season with the Brooklyn Dodgers: “If I can raise my boy to be half the man that you are,” an admirer writes. Drawing from Robinson’s autobiography and other sources, Rappaport explores some of the seminal events in Robinson’s life and the ballplayer’s feelings about them, ably profiling a groundbreaking athlete and “one-person civil rights movement.” An author’s note, timeline, extensive source notes, bibliography, and index are included. Ages 8–12. Agent: Faith Hamlin, Sanford J. Greenburger Associates. (Sept.)