Today we are sharing I Am Jackie Robinson by Brad Meltzer and illustrated by Christopher Eliopoulos as part of the Ordinary People Change the World Blog Tour. It seems very appropriate to share this fun book about this great man during Black History Month (be sure to enter the MKB Black History Month Giveaway). Penguin Kids is giving away an entire set of the Ordinary People Change the World Series (to enter scroll down). So far there are eight books in the series. We have already shared I Am Abraham Lincoln, I Am Lucille Ball, I Am Martin Luther King, Jr., I Am Helen Keller, I Am Rosa Parks, and I Am Amelia Earhart. Tomorrow we will share the eighth book, and I am very excited to tell you it will be a Multicultural Math post! But today we are focusing on Jackie Robinson!
Jackie Robinson had big plans for her son which is why she named him after a brave president--Teddy Roosevelt. Jackie Roosevelt Robinson was the youngest of five kids. As a child Jackie did not always feel brave. He did not like sleeping alone (which Hazel completely loves she she does not like to sleep alone either). He however did stand up for himself. When a neighbor called him names he yelled back at her and eventually her father and Jackie got into a rock throwing fight. Jackie's mother taught him the important lesson of doing something good because it brings out the good in others. Jackie also noticed many of the prejudices that existed in his environment. His family was one of the only black families in the neighborhood. Jackie's favorite thing was playing sports and he was good at them all. But even being good at them was not enough to get him to the Major Leagues or at least until Branch Rickey, president of the Brooklyn Dodgers, had the idea of looking for black players to fill his team during World War II. Jackie Robinson had to be brave to step out as the first black baseball player in the Major Leagues. He put up with a lot of things from balls being thrown at his head to being spit on and having his son threatened, but he was brave because he really wanted to play baseball.
We made our puppet for Jackie Robinson. Hazel had the most fun with this puppet. She kept pretending to be playing baseball with him. As with all the books there are always some funny ideas and with this one it was what the B stood for on his hat (which he wore throughout the book including in bed and the swimming pool). Hazel also loved that. I enjoyed learning about Jackie Robinson because he was someone I heard of but did not know that much about. This series always makes learning about the people really fun. Hazel absolutely loves the entire series (and had me buy her the ones we did not get to review). If you haven't checked them out yet you should. I hope you will join us tomorrow for our review of I Am Albert Einstein.
Penguin Kids' Giveaway
Win all eight book in the series!! Runs February 1-29 and is open to US Residents only!
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