Safe at Home

The previous reviewers did a great job! I just want to suggest you pair this book with Carole Boston Weatherfords "A Negro League Scrapbook" and you will be giving a great gift for a boy aged 10 - 16. Enjoy!

Sharon Robinson's SAFE AT HOME (0439671973, $16.99) tells of Jumper, still reeling from his father's sudden death when his mother decides they should move back to her childhood home - in New York's Harlem. Jumper doesn't know anything about living in a city, and his mother signs him up for a city baseball camp, further complicating his life. He quickly makes an enemy of the team's bullying captain: can life get any worse, or can he make something of his problems? A fine story of handling bad odds.

I liked Safe At Home. This book is about making new friends and how important it is to try to overcome the obstacles in life. I liked this book because the story is just like mine. When I moved to CA, I had to make new friends and so did the main character, Jumper Breeze. When Jumper moved to Harlem, he had no friends and was bad at baseball. Instead of basketball camp, like he wanted, he had to go to baseball camp. Jumper didn't like it at first, because it was too hard for him. But he kept working on his skills and got better and now, Jumper doesn't want to stop. When he started camp he met Nia, Dakota, and Sabrina. He also saw Kelvin and Marcus who he met at the arcade. Kelvin was nice to him, but Jumper had a few confrontations with Marcus. Unfortunately, Jumper became co-captains with Marcus on their baseball team. It was hard at first because they weren't friends. But the coach forced them to cooperate with each other. Jumper learned the importance of working hard as a team even if not all your teammates are your friends. I give this book five stars. It was so good, I read it twice! Ames Age 8

Ten-year-old Elijah Breeze, aka Jumper, is going through a very tough time in his life. His dad just died, totally unexpectedly from a heart attack. Instead of staying in their Connecticut home with all the painful memories, raw reminders and empty rooms, Jumper's mom decides they'll move to Harlem in New York to live with Jumper's grandmother. So now Jumper faces a lonely summer in an unfamiliar place. But that's not all. His mom and grandmother sign him up for baseball camp, even though Jumper despises baseball. Basketball is his game; he loves to play and he has a lot of talent. The only time he even attempted baseball turned out to be a disaster; he couldn't hit, was unable to catch, and even sprained his ankle. And to top it off, he felt bored. Jumper ended up quitting the sport, and that really upset his dad, who despised quitters. Jumper is all for skipping out on the four-week camp, but his mom finds a new job and doesn't want him staying home alone. Unfortunately, Jumper has no choice in the matter. When Jumper arrives at baseball camp, he finds that it's even worse than he feared. Marcus is there. Jumper met Marcus briefly at the neighborhood arcade and found him to be rude, insulting and intimidating --- definitely not friend material. And as camp progresses, Jumper learns that Marcus is quite talented at baseball and not very patient with those who aren't. But their coach sees a lot of potential in Jumper, and pushes the two boys to work together. As Jumper slowly learns the sport and eventually starts to make some friends, he realizes that quitting something that's difficult isn't always the answer. SAFE AT HOME is Sharon Robinson's first novel, though she is no novice at either writing or baseball. She proves her talent for both in this book that entertains as it touches the heart. She really captures the spirit of Harlem and her people, and especially young Jumper, who is dealing with the impossible situation of losing a parent and moving to a different place. --- Reviewed by Chris Shanley-Dillman, author of FINDING MY LIGHT and THE BLACK POND