Dad, Jackie, and Me

“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

This loving story is about a young boy and his father who have a love for the baseball player Jackie Robinson. The young boy helps his father learn about baseball, what a lot of people may not know is that his father is Deaf. The author shows how the love of baseball and the love of the wonderful baseball player Jackie Robinson brings a father and son together with a mutual interest to share. This story is touching with a wonderful ending that could bring a tear to your eye. This is a book that every student, parent, and teacher should read. There are lessons in here that are life lessons for everyone to learn from. Never give up and keep trying to reach for your goals!

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

"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

A young boy who lives in Brooklyn is a huge fan of the Dodgers and of Jackie Robinson, the first African American Major League Baseball player. He listens to the games on the radio, wishing for the day that he can see the game in person. One day his dad comes home with tickets to a Dodgers game, and signs to his son that he wants to meet Jackie Robinson. The boy’s father is deaf, so he uses sign language to communicate. The boy and his dad travel to the stadium for the game. When the game begins, the boy’s dad begins yelling “Jackie! Jackie!” with the rest of the crowd when Jackie Robinson comes onto the field. However, he doesn’t say the words exactly right because he can’t hear them to know what it should sound like. The show more boy is embarrassed at first because people are looking at them, but he gets into the game with his father and the other spectators. As the game continues, no one seems to notice that the boy’s father isn’t pronouncing “Jackie” correctly. After the game, the boy began teaching his father about baseball and they practiced throwing and catching every day. The father and son begin following Jackie Robinson in the news and on the field. When they went to the last game of the season, the boy’s father caught a baseball from Jackie Robinson!
I thought it was very interesting that this book combined historical elements with a character who has a disability. I also really appreciated that there was almost no emphasis placed on the fact that the father was deaf. It was just a part of the boy’s life and a part of the story. I loved that baseball gave the father and son a chance to bond and spend time together. show less

I thought that this was a wonderful book by Myron Uhlberg. It is the story of a son and a father who is deaf and becomes a fan and supporter of Jackie Robinson. I loved this book in its entirety. It is a work of fiction but some of the events portrayed in this book are actual experiences that the author had with his dad.

I loved how the author connected Jackie Robinson and the dad. Both were the victims of prejudice and discrimination but not in the same ways. For Jackie, it was because he was a black man who was entering the game of baseball which was primarily played by whites and for the father it was because he was deaf and people did not understand that. Prejudice and discrimination is the central theme in this book and how both of show more the characters, Jackie and the father, overcome that prejudice and discrimination.

I also really loved the illustrations in the book as well. It felt as if I was being transported back to that time in American history. I really felt like I was watching Jackie Robinson playing because the illustrations really captured that time. Overall, I really loved this book and would recommend it to everyone. show less