The United States v. Jackie Robinson

A non-fiction book about Jack Robinson. Or better known as Jackie Robinson. The United States v. Jackie Robinson is not a typical biography of a baseball player. They start out with him being a child growing up as the only black family on their street. His mother’s strength and finally Jackie’s strength in the military. Few probably know that Jackie would not give up his seat on a bus either and it lead to a historic ruling, too. Finally, it ends with some of his baseball career and the Jackie Robinson most people know.

The timeline at the end of the book is a great tie-in to the history going on at the time as well as Robinson’s own time-line. The fact the author, Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen, has focused on areas of Robinson’s life that the non-sports fan might not know about is refreshing. You can give this book to a child who likes baseball, but at the same time, a child into the military or history. You can have this in a personal, school or classroom library. It is black history, American history and military history.

Aimed at ages five to eight, you could do as a read aloud in a classroom setting to older children. However, it is not a short book and you might have to take a little longer than a usual reading time to finish it. This does not lend itself to bedtime reading easily. Or if you did, probably would have be to cut down into smaller portions. The fact it reads as a story is a good touch. You get the facts and the fun all in one place.

There is not a lot of typical action but there is a lot going on and worth the time to read. Even if you are not a kid, into baseball, history or military. It is just a good book.