Dad, Jackie, and Me

I fell in love with this book. There were a few parts that made me sad but were also extremely realistic. A young and father follow Jackie Robinson and everything he does. They bond over the game of baseball and love for Jackie. The father of the young boy is deaf and doesn't let that stop his dreams of meeting Jackie. I think in a way, the father loved Jackie because they both deal with diversity and struggle with people's impressions of them during that time. Great book.

This is definitely one of my favorites books that I’ve read so far. The message in “Dad, Jackie, and Me” is so inspirational and will show children that anything is possible no matter what obstacles are in your way. The story focuses around Jackie Robinson in 1947 after he is the first African-American baseball player to play for a MLB team. The story is being told by a young boy who loves baseball and Jackie Robinson. He wished to one day be able to go to Ebbets Field and watch Jackie play, but didn’t think that would ever happen. One day his dreams came true when his father came home with tickets to a baseball game. His father was deaf so he had to use sign language to communicate. While at the game, the young boy’s father show more would yell out Jackie’s name, but because he was deaf it didn’t quite sound like Jackie and everyone around them just stared at him with a funny look. Jackie never noticed them but after going to a game, the father started loving baseball just as much as his son. He started reading up about Jackie and the Dodgers, he practiced throwing the ball with his son, even though he wasn’t good and dropped the ball almost every time and got tickets to more games. When they went to the last Dodgers game of the season, Jackie Robinson caught a ball and turned to the stands and threw it right to the young boy’s father. For the first time, the dad caught the ball! He then placed the ball in his son’s glove and gave him a big smile. I think the overall message of this book is to teach kids that anything is possible even if you have a disability. I think the father in this story follows Jackie Robinson’s story because in a way they’re very similar. The father is deaf and considers himself to be a minority and Jackie Robinson is a minority with becoming the first African-American to play for a MLB team. The connection that the young boy and his father share over Jackie Robinson is so touching and heart warming. show less

“Dad, Jackie, and Me” is one of my new favorite books of all time, and one that I will definitely have in my future classroom. Growing up around baseball, I’ve always loved reading about players such as Jackie Robinson. Not only was he the first African American baseball player, but he also paved the way for further integration. I loved reading this story through the main characters point of view. This young boy explained his passion for baseball, particularly Jackie Robinson, and what it was like to watch him play. Stating that fans would often call him malicious, unpleasant names, the young boy and his father continued to favor Jackie Robinson as a person and a phenomenal baseball player. In addition, the illustrations were show more remarkable in this book. As I opened the front cover, a team picture of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1947 and newspaper articles about Jackie Robinson filled the pages. These real life artifacts truly captured my attention, as it would with many readers, too. The illustrations of Ebbets Field and Jackie Robinson were captivating and well detailed. The main idea of this story not only explores an incredible baseball player, but also shows determination, perseverance, courage, bravery, tolerance and acceptance, and finally, exhibits a character’s disability (deafness). show less

After reading “Dad, Jackie, and Me” by Myron Uhlberg, I realized there were two reasons I thoroughly enjoyed this book. First, the plot of this story included a buildup of suspense and tension that really made me want to read more. The young boy in this story starts out with talking about his love for baseball and Jackie Robinson. As the story continues, the boy and his deaf father get tickets to a Dodgers baseball game. You can tell the boy is excited and the suspense starts to build as the boy and his dad are watching the game. On pages 15 and 16, the author creates suspense by saying “In the ninth inning, Jackie bunted, and beat the throw to first. Then he stole second. On the next Dodgers hit, he moved to third. The score was show more tied at four-all.” These short sentences left me questioning what was going to happen next. The way it was structured really engaged me and made me want to read further. Second, the characters in this book were believable. The father in this story was deaf and the author used the boy to share the father and son relationship with the audience, as well as the struggles the father faced. For example, pages 7 and 8 say “I couldn’t wait to get to the ballpark. But the whole ride I kept thinking, There’s no way Dad can meet Jackie Robinson. Besides, Jackie doesn’t know sign language. How would they talk to each other?” This shows the language barrier between Jackie Robinson and the father. Having the young boy share this with the reader is eye opening because it brings in a realistic and valid point. Overall, the big idea of this story is to never give up, instead persevere. show less

A great story about a father and son who bond over baseball. Just like Jackie Robinson was talked about for being a black on the major league baseball team, Jackie's father felt singled out for being deaf. His father was interested in baseball and asked his son to teach him but the only time he caught the ball was at a baseball game where Jackie Robinson threw the ball up to him. I think alot of boy students would enjoy reading this.

"Dad, Jackie, And Me" is the story of how a boy and his father, who happens to be deaf, become truly inspired by baseball player Jackie Robinson, the first African American player in major league baseball. Set in New York, during the summer of 1947, it follows this boy and his father as they spend week after week at Ebbets Fields watching Jackie play, collecting every article about him, and even practicing their own baseball skills. With the theme of this book being "sometimes the differences between people aren't really as big as we think they are," it easy to be touched by how a hearing-impared father gets inspired by a black baseball player when the two things seem completely unrelated. The setting acts as a major aspect of the story show more since it is set in a time where a difference was grounds for prejudice and it's about the effects overcoming prejudice. This story, and Jackie Robinson's story in general, is about excelling even when one of your characteristics acts as a hindrance and how excelling in spite of that can encourage others. show less

A young boy living in Brooklyn goes to his first baseball game with his father. His father is deaf and is not a big fan of baseball, but goes to the game anyway. While there, the father becomes fascinated with Jackie Robinson and asks the boy to teach him everything about baseball and Jackie. The two continued to go to games and watch Jackie Robinson play with the hopes of one day meeting him. At the last game of the 1947 season, Jackie caught a ball and threw it into the crowd, almost directly to the father. The father was so happy because it was like a dream come true. I liked how this book told the story through the eyes of a young boy looking at his father, who happened to be deaf. While the father's disability was not the focus of show more the story, I think the author did a good job of pointing out particular things that are very realistic for people who are deaf. show less