Dad, Jackie and Me

Uhlberg, Myron. 2005. Illustrated by Colin Bootman. Atlanta: Peachtree Publishers. ISBN 3-1551-07231-8368.

Plot SummaryA young baseball fan and his deaf father share in the excitement of having Jackie Robinson play for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. Each have different reasons for following Robinson's season, and learn from each other as that amazing baseball season comes to a close.

Analysis
The story opens as a young boy, glove and baseball next to him, sits glued to the family radio. It is Opening Day, 1947 and the Brooklyn Dodgers had Jackie Robinson! We immediately take notice of the watercolor illustrations that are framed within each page. The detail given to the time period is nostalgically wonderful: radios on window sills, the rolled up jeans on boys, the majestic Ebbets Field on the following pages, and the Chevy’s that drive by.

It is not until the fifth page we discover the boy’s father is deaf,
“He walked into my bedroom and announced, ‘We’re going to Ebbets Field.’ He didn’t say is out loud. My father was deaf, so he signed the words with his hands.”
Even though the boy’s father never really cared for baseball, he demonstrated a great deal of interest now. The two practiced throwing and catching and even though the father did his best, he just was not good at it. In an Author’s Note we understand why that may have been:

"As a boy in 1910, he attended a deaf residential school, where playing sports was not encouraged. In those days most people considered deaf children severely handicapped and thought teaching them sports was a waste of time."
In this same Author’s Note we also understand why the boy’s father took such an interest in Jackie Robinson:
“Just you watch, Jackie will show them that his skin color has nothing to do with how he plays baseball. He will show them all that he is as good as they are.”
The boys father had also experienced prejudice because of his deafness. He also had to prove that he could be just as good as everyone else. It is these notes that validate the accuracy of the story.

While the boy’s father does possess a disability, the author portrays the father just as any other father: catching baseballs, working on a scrapbook with his son, attending baseball games. We see a father interacting with his son, not a deaf father interacting with his son.

Myron Ulberg writes a story worthy of reading that carries an informative and sensitive message. His writing is nothing less than poetic,
"I shut my eyes against the glare. When I opened them again, my breath is caught in my throat. I had never seen anything so perfect as the inside of Ebbets Field. There, laid out at my feet, was the emerald green field, each blade of grass reflecting the light from the afternoon sun."
We are made to feel in the stands right along with him!

The author also does not sugarcoat the reality of being the son of a deaf person. We empathize with the son as he feels embarrassed during a game. His father, filled with excitement as Jackie takes the field, begins to shout , “Jackiee, Jackiee, Jackiee!” However, it didn’t come out like that but sounded more like, “AH-GEE, AH-GHEE, AH-GEE! "
“Since my dad couldn’t hear, he had no way of knowing what the words should sound like. Everyone looked at my dad. I looked at my shoes.”
The bond between father and son helps foster acceptance. Later in the book we read of the time a Cardinal player spikes Jackie’s leg on purpose. Everyone is stunned silent.
"In that awful silence, my father jumped to his feet. NOOOOOOOO!’ he screamed. ‘NOT FAIR! AH-GEE, AH-GEE, AH-GEE!" It’s at that point that the crowd goes nuts, joining the boy’s father and chanting Jackie’s name.

The realistic illustrations and the heart-felt story moved me and I was brought to tears. While this story is fictional, it was based on truth. The story will be devoured by Jackie Robinson fans, Brooklyn fans, or plain baseball fans. This is book that should not be missed.

Review Excerpts
" Uhlberg's moving text and Bootman's realistic, period watercolors introduce the narrator, an avid young baseball player and fan of the Brooklyn Dodgers."-From Publisher's Weekly

"Bootman's lovely watercolor paintings add detail and wistful nostalgia. Baseball fans may be disappointed with the narrative's slow pace and the fact that Robinson is little more than an iconic figure, but others will appreciate the story's insightful treatment of deafness as viewed through the eyes of a child."-From School Library Journal

Connections
Other titles dealing with Jackie Robinson
For upper elementary:
Just Like Josh Gibson by Angela Johnson
Promises To Keep: How Jackie Robinson Changed America by Sharon Robinson
For lower elementary:
A Picture Book of Jackie Robinson (Picture Biography Book)
by David A. Adler and Robert Casilla
Jackie's Bat by Marybeth Lorbiecki and Brian Pinkney
Books dealing with deaf parents
Singing Hands by Delia Ray