Teammates

Peter Golenbock (Bums An Oral History of the Brooklyn Dodgers) has written a simple but eloquent children's retelling of the story of Jackie Robinson and Pee Wee Reese. Jackie Robinson was the first black man to play modern Major League baseball. He joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, in the face of incredible opposition and violent resistance. Pee Wee Reese, the Captain of the Dodgers, was a Southerner. Although asked to sign a petition barring Jackie Robinson from the team, Pee Wee Reese refused to sign. Pee Wee Reese, who was greatly respected throughout the sport of baseball, thus put an end to any talk of petitions and player strikes. Jackie Robinson was the target of viciously aimed pitches. He was spiked by opposing players. His life was threatened by racist fans. He was verbally abused in the worst way by fans and players. Everyone remembers the central incident of TEAMMATES, though there is disagreement as to where it happened. On this particular day, the verbal abuse of Jackie Robinson had reached a fearsome level. Pee Wee Reese stepped from the dugout. He approached Jackie Robinson and put his arm around him. The crowd fell silent. This simple gesture is remembered as one of the finest moments not only in baseball but in American history, and has been immortalized by a statue which stands in Brooklyn today. Pee Wee Reese and Jackie Robinson became more than teammates. They became friends. Peter Golenbock's well-written tale is easy for children to understand, and will help them develop sensitivity, empathy, tolerance, and a sense of equality with others who may (or may not) be different than themselves. This book is AN ESSENTIAL READ for children of all ages.

TeammatesTeammates is about 2 men namedPees wee Reese and Jackie Robinson. Both of them were baseball players on the same Team called the dogers. Pee weeReese was white and Jackie rob-Inson was black. They were bothFriends and helped each other out. The players on their team Came mostly from the south, menHad been taught to avoid blackPeople since childhood. They moved to another table Whenever Jackie sat down nextTo them. Many opposing players Were cruel to Jackie, calling him mean names from their Dugouts. A few tried to hurt Him with their spiked shoes.It was bad for Jackie. PitchersAimed for his head, and he Received threats on his life, Both from individuals and fromOramizations like the Ku Klux Klan. Jackie avoided all of it,And made the team. Jackie andPee wee became really greatFriends and baseball legends.

A simple telling of how Jackie Robinson came to play in the major leagues, this book portrays the prejudice he faced in a basic way that children can understand. And it shines a bright light on a quiet moment: PeeWee Reese's brave public declaration of solidarity with his teammate. This book has been my son's favorite for the past two years, since he was five.

"Teammates" tells the story of one of the more moving moments in the history of baseball that occurred during the 1947 season when the Brooklyn Dodgers traveled to Crosley Field in Cincinnati to play the Reds. Jackie Robinson, the first black man to play in the major leagues, was playing first base and being the target of hostility and abuse from the fans. At shortstop was Harold "Pee Wee" Reese, who born in the South, but who had refused to join other Southerners on the team in signing a petition to kick Jackie off the team. That day in Cincinnati, Reese did something that remains one of the bright moments of that historic season and which deserves to be more than a minor footnote in baseball history. "Teammates" is written by Peter Golenbock, who heard the story of what happened that day from Rex Barney, who pitched for the Dodgers that day. Usually when the story of Jackie Robinson breaking the "color line" in baseball, the other key person in the story is Branch Rickey, the Dodger general manager. But Rickey could only support Robinson from the front office and not on the field, where it was Pee Wee Reese who decided to do something about that. Consequently, it is Reese who emerges as the hero of this particular story. Certainly it is safe to assume that anyone who reads this book knows something about Jackie Robinson; Golenbock talks about how Rickey needed somebody special to be the first, but does not get into the reasons why Robinson was that man (e.g., All-American football star at U.C.L.A., Army officer). But clearly "Teammates" is not intended to be the first book a youngster reads about the story of Jackie Robinson. Paul Bacon, as he did for the exquisite "Susanna of the Alamo," does both the design and illustration for this volume, combining historic photographs and items with his own watercolor paintings to tell the story.

This book is a true story that vividly describes the era of baseball and the scoial climate of race relations in the early 1940's. The Brooklyn Dodgers were the first Major Leauge Baseball team to hire an African American. Branch Rickey of the Dodgers was looking for "a man strong enough not to fight back". Jackie Robinson was of course that man and it was known as the "Great Experiment". It was tough for Jackie who ws not well recieived by many whites, including his teammates. One teammate was different, he knew he should always do what is right even if everyone around him including family or friends felt differently, that man was Pewee Reese. This book looks at how racism affected many aspects of society and how the strength of one indidual can change many attitudes. There is a variety of mediums used for the illustrations that only enhance the book.