Barry Wittenstein has worked at CBS Records, CBS News, and was a
web editor and writer for Major League Baseball. He is now an
elementary-school substitute teacher and children's author. This is
his first book for children. Barry lives in New York, New York.
London Ladd is the illustrator of Under the Freedom Tree by Susan
VanHecke, Oprah- The Little Speaker by Carole Boston Weatherford
(Two Lions), and March On!- The Tay My Brother Martin Changed the
World by Christine King Farris (Scholastic). London lives in
Syracuse, New York.
Bernard is a huge fan of the Boston Red Sox, but the young black
boy wonders when they will field a player who looks like him. Every
year he and his family see a game at Fenway, though they don't
always feel welcome there. Jackie Robinson has retired, and all the
other Major League Baseball teams have African-American players.
Even basketball's Boston Celtics and hockey's Boston Bruins have
integrated, but the Red Sox owners continue to resist. Spring
training 1959 brings a ray of hope. Pumpsie Green has a chance at
making the team. But he is deemed "not ready." After fan protests,
newspaper editorials, and a drop into last place, Pumpsie is
finally called up to the Red Sox. Bernard attends Pumpsie's first
game at Fenway, acutely aware that he is witnessing history.
Pumpsie will never be a star but has a solid journeyman career.
Wittenstein is scrupulously accurate in his portrayal of time,
place, baseball, and characters real and imagined, allowing Bernard
to narrate in the language of the 1950s, speaking directly to
readers in an earnest, joyous voice that resonates with emotion.
Ladd's wonderfully detailed acrylic-and-colored pencil
illustrations powerfully and beautifully complement and enhance the
events. The family glows with personality, and the baseball scenes
are spot-on. Bernard is innocent, aware, and endlessly hopeful and
will win readers hearts. A grand slam.
—Kirkus Reviews, starred review
Even after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier, other hurdles
remained for black professional baseball players. It's something
that Bernard, the young African-American narrator of Wittenstein's
first picture book, is acutely aware of. "How come the Giants got
Wille Mays, and Jackie Robinson retired from the Dodgers, but we
still don't have a Negro player?" Bernard, a devoted Red Sox fan,
asks his father. A promising minor leaguer, Pumpsie Green, finally
gets a shot to play, but it's no easy road; the Red Sox,
Wittenstein explains, were the last major league team to
intergrate, in 1959. The racism that Green was up against is
evident in Wittenstein's story and in Ladd's (Fredrick's Journey)
expressive, dramatically framed acrylics; at Fenway, Bernard and
his family are told to "Sit down and shut up" by a white fan and
then scolded by a policeman. Bernard's conversational narration
creates a warm bond with readers from the get-go, and although
Wittenstein and Ladd never sugarcoat instances of racial prejudice,
the story's moments of triumph sound the loudest notes.
—Publishers Weekly
It's 1959. Growing up in an African American family of avid
baseball fans, Bernard loves almost everything about the Red Sox,
from listening to games on the radio to cheering on the players at
Fenway. What's not to love? Well, there's the fact that some folks
in the stands make rude, racist remarks and the injustice that—12
years after Jackie Robinson "broke the color barrier"—the team has
never fielded a black player. Finally, under pressure, management
hires Pumpsie Green. The story ends on a high note, with everyone
celebrating as Green contributes to a Red Sox win. Weaving in
facts, emotions, and perspective, the first-person text makes it
easy to empathize with Bernard's point of view. The acrylic and
colored-pencil illustrations feature good characterizations, strong
compositions, and dramatic ball-park scenes. A closing author's
note fills in some baseball history. With its tacit acknowledgement
that social change is a slow process and that racism was not
confined to the South, this picture book contributes to children's
understanding of America's past, while telling a good story.
—Booklist
In 1959 Boston, a young African American baseball fan named Bernard
anxiously waits for the Minor League player Pumpsie Green to join
the Red Sox. It is the last team with an all-white lineup, but
change is in the air. Bernard and his family continue to face
racial discrimination from white fans and policemen at Fenway Park
when they attend games. But after the boy and his family hear
Pumpsie's name announced on the radio, they later go to a game to
root for the new player. This story is not so much about Pumpsie
Green (who goes on to a short career with the Red Sox) as it is
about a family longing for an end to segregation and
discrimination. The joy that comes when they enjoy a small victory
with their favorite team's integration is palpable though subtle
and is the real center of the narrative. The vibrant illustrations
in acrylic paint complement and enhance the text, making readers
feel a part of the tale.
This uplifting account of a family and the integration of Boston
baseball will be inspiring to many youngsters.
—School Library Journal
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