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

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

• 
  Annabelle.H

  this was a really good book, I normally do not like biographies, but I really enjoyed this book. I would recommend this book to anyone even if you do not play sports.
• 
  Bridget

  A quick read, I really liked that this focused as much on Jackie's willingness to explicitly fight back against racism as it did on his sports prowess. It seems like a lot of what's written for kids about well know African Americans from our past is about their willingness to work together and turn the other cheek, but it's really useful and important to see these people as individuals, not martyrs or sanitized figures. Jackie Robinson was remarkable for many reasons, and I learned a lot about the ways that he fought racism aside from his diligent and tireless work on the baseball field.
• 
  Kameron

  This was an informational book about Jackie Robinson. It is very informative and eye opening about his life and what he managed to accomplish in his life span. This was a very quick informational book.
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  Clare Lund

  A quick and informative read about Jackie Robinson’s life and groundbreaking career in Major League Baseball. Readers should be aware that this book includes direct quotations of the racial slurs Mr. Robinson faced, but I would still recommend this book for readers 10 and up.
• 
  B220

  This super quick non-fiction read tells the story of Jackie Robinson, the trailblazing African American athlete who broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball and, in doing so, opened the doors for others to follow in his footsteps. Following Robinson from his childhood where he idolized his older brother for his own athletic exploits all the way through his success in the majors, readers will get a vivid glimpse into the racism and pushback he and his family faced every step of the way, from almost every corner of his travels.
  
  I'm not a baseball historian, just a well-informed fan. I have to be honest and say this book didn't necessarily offer up anything new or ground breaking. Robinson's story is well known. But, for younger people whom this book is intended for, 42 is Not Just a Number provides a pretty accessible view of this time in history and the character that helped Robinson become a symbol of hope and perseverance. As a nominee for the 2020 Rebecca Caudill Book Award, it is a quality piece of non-fiction that is worth checking out.
• 
  Ethan

  The book is mainly about how Jackie Robinson had lived his whole life. When he was a kid he didn't have a father so he lived with his mom and older brother. When he got older he found out that he was good at football he started playing in middle then high then he got a scholarship for the University Of California, LA. When he was walking around the school he bumped into a pretty girl (in his opinion) and carried on? (Later his wife). He injured his ankle while playing football so he stopped.
  
  I think the book was great I like the details behind his life and how he managed around when he was little. The book had overall a great story behind Jackie, but one thing it was missing was the action and the thrill (Jackie had some thrill in his life right?). I give the book a 8/10 don't get me wrong it was still good just had a few missing parts. I suggest this book to people who like Baseball, History behind players, and all-around sports fans.
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  Karen Arendt

  Jackie Robinson was more than a baseball player. This book chronicles his life and hardships from childhood through his baseball career. His courageand strength in the face of racism and segregation show what a great man he was. The book highlights his life at various ages and includes details of his games with the Dogders. This book would be a welcome addition to any sports collection in any library.. The timeline at the end of the book includes some additional details about his life. I would have enjoyed some photographs to be included with the text.
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  Judi Paradis

  Solid straight forward biography of Jackie Robinson, that focuses on his role in breaking racial barriers. I appreciate how the author provides lots of information about Robinson's early years and shows how he stood up to discrimination often and with force as a young man in school and in the military. Noting the strength it took not to respond to overt racism in his early baseball career became even more compelling.
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  Jackie

  A short, concise biography about the great Jackie Robinson packed with facts, trivia, and awe-inspiring statistics. Jackie was a trailblazer with support from both unlikely and likely sources. His performance on and off the field is legendary and timeless.
  
  42 Is Not Just a Number: The Odyssey of Jackie Robinson, American Hero is a must for sports enthusiasts and readers of all ages. Includes Author's Note, Timeline, Source Notes, Selected Bibliography, Books, Websites, and Index.
• 
  Allison

  I have never read anything about Jackie Robinson before so I truly enjoyed this. My only complaint about the book is that I wish there were pictures in the book maybe one at the end of each of the chapters.
• 
  Elif

  This was a wonderful nonfiction. I really enjoyed the story. Jackie Robinson's life is told in such a wondrous way that does not bore the reader. I would recommend this to even people who do not like nonfiction.
• 
  Dotty

  The man was inspiring, this writing is well researched with splendid narrative style providing details that flesh out the man and the player.
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  Connor B.

  I really enjoyed this book. It was about Jacki Robinson's life. It was from when he was a kid growing up in California until his army experiences and his baseball career. It told me a lot about his life that I didn't know before.
• 
  Jenn Hopp

  In an attempt to read widely, this title came up in a conversation with my husband, so I though I'd give it a try. I enjoyed this quick and informative read about Jackie Robinson's life, and I can easily envision students feeling the same way. Recommended for G6, 7, & 8.
• 
  Jaina Rose

  This review is also available on my blog,
  Read Till Dawn.
  
  I always knew in a vague sort of way that Jackie Robinson was the first African American baseball player, and that this was a Big Deal back in its time. I've never been much into sports, so I never knew much more about Jackie than those basic facts.
  
  42 is Not Just a Number does a really good job of going beyond the basic facts and giving us a good sense of who Jackie was and what he experienced throughout his life–or at least the first few decades of his life; the last twenty years are pretty much skipped over. I think the parts that fascinated me the most, though, were actually the earliest days: his childhood and days in the military before he joined the Dodgers. You know what the single most fascinating thing I learned about Jackie Robinson was? His older brother Mack won a silver Olympic medal in the 200-meter dash in 1936. He received no support from the city of Pasadena when he went off to the Olympics, no ticker-tape parade when he returned, and once he finished competing he literally wound up sweeping the streets of the city at night.
  
  I suppose it's just because of the glory and fame that follows all the Olympic athletes (regardless of race) nowadays, but the sad mental image of this amazing athlete coming so far only to be turned away by every white person in Pasadena is particularly stark and hateful to me. Even now, we all know about Jackie Robinson–but do we know about his brother Mack Robinson, an equally talented athlete in his own right? No, we don't. Not at all.
  
  The other interesting scene that particularly caught my attention was when Jackie got in huge trouble when he sat on a bus next to a black woman whom the driver perceived to be white. Basically, when he got pulled before an authority figure in the army for this "crime," he was disrespectful of the charges and disobedient when ordered to stay in a different room where he wouldn't be allowed to argue his case. He eventually actually went to trial for the offences, and while he was acquitted he was left behind by his platoon. It all ended well, I suppose, since that indirectly led to his becoming a professional baseball player, but the injustice still rankles.
  
  Basically, this is a straightforward and fairly simple, yet still detailed, description of Jackie Robinson's most formative moments. It does skim over some times that I think would have been interesting to know more about, but on the whole it does a good job and makes for an interesting read. If you or someone you know is interested in learning more about Jackie Robinson the human being, then I recommend 42 is Not Just a Number.
  
  Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
• 
  Sarah

  Kids non-fiction really is the best. This short book taught me a whole bunch I didn't know about Jackie Robinson, first African-American man to play Major League Baseball.
  
  For instance, his older brother, Mack, won the silver medal in the 200 meter dash in the 1936 Olympics right on the heels of Jesse Owens. During WWII, pressure from his friend, world heavyweight boxing champion Joe Lewis, convinced the Army to put Jackie and several other high-performing African Americans through officer training school. Jackie was a natural athlete who lettered in 4 sports, even in college. In fact, the first sport he tried to play professionally was football, but an ankle injury got him cut from his first semi-pro team.
  
  Hearing about all the challenges racism put in his path was depressing - as a kid he could only swim at the pool on a certain day of the week; the neighbors in his mostly white neighborhood often were mean to him; despite his athletic prowess, college athletic scholarships were hard to come by; despite being a top performer in basic training, the Army had to be convinced to send him and other top-performing blacks to officer training; despite being a talented player in the Negro Leagues, it took several attempts to get an MLB team to follow through on actually letting him earn a spot on a team, and when he got there many players and managers didn't want to accept him.
  
  It was encouraging to learn that his rise to the Major League taught him to take all that anger at being discriminated against and use it to build his inner strength and ignore the taunts and go on being the best baseball player he could be. Sometimes the best way to fight injustice is to blaze a trail and help others follow your lead.
  
  So instead of reviewing the book, I've given a book report, but I guess that's the book's strength - it taught me a lot and got me excited to learn more about Jackie Robinson - the ball player, and the man.
• 
  VillaPark Public Library

  Can you imagine a young child who was told they couldn’t swim in the same pool as some of the other kids or couldn’t eat their meal at the same counter in a restaurant as the other customers? Or later, when older facing racial prejudice while serving in the U.S. Army simply because they weren’t the color as the other soldiers? Well, baseball’s Hall-of-Famer Jack “Jackie” Robinson was this very child and the young man who dealt with racism during the 1930s and 1940s. He was the very first to have broken through the color barrier in Major League Baseball through his magnitude of athletic talents (along with the help from Branch Rickey of the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1946) and his depth of courage, strong beliefs, and character. He was taught to fight back early on against cruel and violent hatred and racial injustice throughout his youth. Later in life, Jackie let his talents do the talking.
  
  With its 21 short chapters, this biography tells a story of courage, self-control, and perseverance of a remarkable man and his phenomenal ability to play the game of baseball. Another book for enthusiasts worth checking into is Promises to Keep: How Jackie Robinson Changed America, written by his daughter Sharon Robinson. Though this 2020 Caudill nominated book is a great, captivating read, I thought it could have included photos more than those on the covers and a bit more story-line as to Jackie Robinson’s later achievements. Definitely a must-read about a fantastic human being and his extraordinary life proving that 42 is indeed not just a number!
  
  This title is also available in digital formatting online with the Swan catalog and Hoopla. Suggested ages are 8-12 with a Lexile Reading Measure of 1010L.
  
  
  Check this book out from the Villa Park Public Library!
• 
  Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book*

  Rappaport, Doreen 42 Is Not Just a Number, 128 pgs. Candlewick Press, 2017. $14.99 Content: Language: PG (“n” word); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG.
  
  Jackie Robinson was the youngest of six kids and his mother moved them to Pasadena, California to try and give them opportunities. Jackie was a good athlete in many sports, but Branch Rickey saw not just his athleticism but that he was a good candidate to desegregate major league baseball. Jackie was an amazing baseball player, but he also helped the country in a lot of ways to move past segregation. His baseball jersey number, 42, was permanently retired from baseball to honor him.
  
  This book read like a bunch of short stories about Jackie Robinson from different times in his life. The stories that Rappaport chose were interesting and fascinating, but at times it was confusing because she would use the word “today” in reference to the time period she was talking about instead of the today for the reader. This is a simple and brief overview of the life of a revered historical figure, and there are better Jackie Robinson biographies out there, but this is a good introduction for the younger crowd.
  
  EL, MS – ADVISABLE. Reviewer, C. Peterson.
  
  https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2017...
• 
  Sharon Layburn

  5th&up
  What an interesting book! Despite having a basic knowledge and admiration of Robinson, I learned so many fascinating things about his life. His older brother was an Olympic medalist. Robinson excelled at many sports. He worked at the Pearl Harbor Naval Base and left two days before it was bombed. He served in the army, and broke racial barriers there as well. When it comes to his baseball career, even those who know of his contributions will be enthralled with the reminder of the discipline it took to break the color barrier, the cruelty of fans and players alike, the enormous pressure he felt to be the best and the effect it had on him. He had to swallow or ignore so much- more than any person should ever have to. His will and strength of character was amazing.
  
  Note: be aware that this book uses the "N" word in context, and includes other offensive racial slurs and terms.
  
  This ARC was obtained at BookExpo17- with thanks to Candlewick- in exchange for an honest review.
• 
  Mrs.Melaugh Melaugh

  In twenty short chapters of eight or less pages, readers are introduced to the inspirational life of Jackie Robinson ending with the year he broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball in 1947. Each of the first ten chapters describes an incident that forged Jackie’s character, including numerous times when he faced down prejudice and spoke out or fought for equal treatment. Readers may be shocked to encounter quotes containing the ‘n’ word used by bigoted people at the time. The last ten chapters focus on the challenges Robinson faced leading up to and during his first year playing for the Dodgers in 1947. A final chapter provides a retrospective of Robinson’s influence looking back from 1997 when his number 42 was retired. The back matter is thorough, containing an author’s note, timeline, annotated footnotes, bibliography, suggestions for additional reading, and index. Inclusion of photos would have enhanced the narrative.