Keystone Kids

Maybe not the Tunis book you start with if you're interested in his Brooklyn Dodgers series, but quite possibly the one you should end with. Game action is not as taut as "World Series," but here you'll find the most insight on the characters as people -- including a virtuoso passage where Tunis shifts from the narrow world-view of the Russell boys to an almost godlike round-the-horn exposition of each Dodger's ancestry and historical origins. Only Tunis could reach such high notes in the genre, and you'll never be too old or too wise to read it again.

In my youth, I read hundreds of books of juvenile sports fiction. When in junior high, I started in the A's and read every book through the Z's on the subject in the Harding IMC. I repeated this in the Hiawatha public library and then read many more in the Kennedy High School library. This book is the second best one I have ever read, trailing only "Crazy Legs McBain" by Joe Archibald. What makes this book so special is that it also deals with the problem of prejudice in our society and how it destroys the perpetrators just as much if not more than those who are the targets. Spike and Bob Russell are brothers and a shortstop/second base combination as good as there is in baseball. They are called up to the Brooklyn Dodgers, a team that is struggling. In their early twenties, they must prove their worth, just like all other rookies. However, Spike is very astute, and when the team flounders the next season, he is named player-manager. It would appear that the team should challenge for the pennant, but there is a great deal of internal dissension. Not against Spike, but because he is using Jocko Klein as his catcher. Jocko is Jewish and is the target of a great deal of hostility, even from his teammates. This causes their play to suffer and even drives a wedge between Spike and Bob. It reaches the point where they are mired in the second division and seemingly have no hope of rising in the standings. Finally, Spike calls a team meeting and tells the team that Jocko is not a Jewish man, but the first string catcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Jocko then threatens to fight with the Dodger who is most against him and the other man backs down. Jocko then elevates his play on the field and his teammates fall in line behind him. Finally, when some fans will not let up in their heckling of Jocko, some Dodger players, led by Bob Russell, fight them off. The first lesson from this book is that harboring and acting on racial or ethnic prejudice is a broad spectrum destructive force. However, there is a second and just as powerful lesson. If that prejudice can be overcome and you are willing to allow those you might slight to be on your team, it is possible to accomplish great things.

In this book the arthur I think did very well in describing the baseball game. He really brought entertainment into the book. In the book a rookie baseball player became the general manager of a MLB team. That is very weird. One thing I really like is that the arthur put alot of problems in the team like the playeres were prejudice of a Jewish rookie.

It's hard to believe this book was written before Jackie Robinson made his debut with the real Dodgers in 1947, because "Keystone Kids" touches on many things that were dealt with when Robinson became the first black player in the majors. Bobby and Spike Russell are a pair of middle infielders brought up from the minors to the Dodgers during the WWII era. Both encounter the usual difficulties that rookies face in the Tunis series. The difference here is another rookie, Jewish catcher Jocko Klein, who has to endure prejudice from opponents and even his own teammates. While the title of the book suggests the Russell brothers as the main characters, Jocko is the real story here. To me, this book and "The Kid Comes Back" are the two most socially relevant of the Tunis series. Any parent wishing to instill a sense of conscience in their kids could do a whole lot worse than getting them "Keystone Kids."

This story is about two young brothers that were drafted by the Dodgers during the 40's.At the beginning Spike,the older brother,is an excited and shy kid in the big leagues.Him & his brother can't believe the first-class service,since they were just orphans,living in an orphanage.Later in the book he becomes the manager.He has to deal with alot of struggles , & carry the weight of the Dodgers on his shoulders.I learned that if you work as a team,you can accomplish alot.