From School Library Journal
Grade 4-7--In captivating words and pictures, Robinson chronicles the life of her legendary father. She weaves historical events into the story of one of baseball's greatest players, revealing how they shaped his life. Her text, combined with numerous black-and-white archival and family photographs, reproductions of newspaper headlines, magazine pages, and letters, illustrates Jackie Robinson's journey from childhood to the moment that he integrated major league baseball to his life as a businessman and civil rights spokesperson. In addition to personal details, this intimate biographical sketch and authentic glimpse into the life of a great African American provides information on the post-Civil War world, race relations, and the struggle for civil rights. It will inspire readers and enhance character-education units. Pair this first purchase with the author's Jackie's Nine: Jackie Robinson's Values to Live By (Scholastic, 2001).--Tracy Bell, Durham Public Schools, NC Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
*Starred Review* Gr. 3-7. There are numerous biographies about Robinson available for young people, but none have this book's advantage of family intimacy. In a personal account, Robinson's daughter, Sharon, describes her father's youth, his rise to become major-league baseball's first African American player, and his involvement in the civil rights movement. Sharon Robinson is an education executive for major-league baseball, and she writes about the sport and her father's life with the same immediate familiarity. It's her seamless blend of history and family story, though, that distinguishes this title. Through particular events in her father's life, the author makes the realities of a segregated society immediate: when her father first showed up for the Brooklyn Dodgers' spring training, for example, he was housed and fed separately from his white teammates. She also includes photographs of racially motivated death threats sent to the Robinson home. Robinson's emphasis on her parents' strong values reiterates some of the material in her previous title for youth, Jackie's Nine (2001), but her private view of her father's accomplishments, placed within the context of American sports and social history, makes for absorbing reading. An excellent selection of family and team photographs and other materials, including her parents' love letters in their own handwriting, illustrate this fine tribute. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Booklist, February 15th, 2004
It's her seamless blend of history and family story that distinguishes this title, her private view of her father's accomplishments.
Book Description
Sharon Robinson shares memories of her famous father in this warm loving biography of the man who broke the color barrier in baseball. Jackie Robinson was an outstanding athlete, a devoted family man and a dedicated civil rights activist. The author explores the fascinating circumstances surrounding Jackie Robinson's breakthrough. She also tells the off-the-field story of Robinson's hard-won victories and the inspiring effect he had on his family, his community. . . his country! Includes never-before-published letters by Jackie Robinson, as well as photos from the Robinson family archives.
Promises To Keep: How Jackie Robinson Changed America ANNOTATION
A biography of baseball legend Jackie Robinson, the first African American to play in the major leagues, as told by his daughter.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Sharon Robinson shares memories of her famous father in this loving biography of the man who made history by breaking the color barrier in baseball -- and taught his children that the only measure of life is the impact you have on others' lives.
Promises To Keep is the story of Jackie Robinson's hard-won victories in baseball, business, politics, and civil rights. It looks at the inspiring effect the legendary Brooklyn Dodger had on his family, his community ... his country.
Told from the unique perspective of Robinson's only daughter, this intimate and uplifting book includes photos from the Robinson family archieves and family letters never before published.
Jackie Robinson is one of our great national heroes. Promises To Keep reminds us what made him a champion -- on and off the field!
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
In this photo biography, Robinson (Jackie's Nine: Jackie Robinson's Values to Live By) offers an affectionate profile of her father who, she writes, "taught me to flip pancakes, hit a baseball, question political leaders, solve problems, and keep promises." The author's concise history of race relations in the United States enables youngsters to understand the underpinnings of the "segregated world" into which Robinson was born and the racism and injustices he encountered throughout his private and professional life. Especially intriguing is the author's incisive explanation of why her father was selected in 1947 as the individual to "pioneer the integration of Major League Baseball"; her discussion provides insight into the man's abilities and determination on and off the field. The volume's abundance of family photographs and reproductions of Robinson's letters to his wife and children amplify the highly personal nature of the narrative. The author notes that her parents encouraged her and her brothers to "measure our lives by the impact we had on other people's lives." Here she clearly, often eloquently, gauges the enormous impact Jackie Robinson had on so many lives as father, husband, athlete and crusader for justice and equality. Ages 9-12. (Feb.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Children's Literature - Patricia Silverberg
The life and achievements of the legendary baseball player Jackie Robinson fills the pages of this nonfiction picture book. Robinson's daughter tells the story of her father against a background of African American history. Ms. Robinson explains slavery, segregation, and the years of oppression. She shows how her father faced battles because of his skin color and his efforts to end discrimination in the United States. This first person narrative presents the humanness of a hero. One gets to know the man behind the baseball uniform and his powerful legacy. The pictures do a wonderful job of bringing the text to life, so the reader gets a sense of the who and the what of the times. The book covers Jackie's childhood, baseball career, and work for human rights. In addition to the chapters on the Hall of Fame player, there is a devoted to slavery and another devoted to African American leaders such as Booker T. Washington and W. E. B Dubois. Because it covers politics, history and economics, this book can be used for units not only on biographies and sports, but also for units American and African American history. 2004, Scholastic Press, Ages 8 to 12.
School Library Journal
Gr 4-7 -In captivating words and pictures, Robinson chronicles the life of her legendary father. She weaves historical events into the story of one of baseball's greatest players, revealing how they shaped his life. Her text, combined with numerous black-and-white archival and family photographs, reproductions of newspaper headlines, magazine pages, and letters, illustrates Jackie Robinson's journey from childhood to the moment that he integrated major league baseball to his life as a businessman and civil rights spokesperson. In addition to personal details, this intimate biographical sketch and authentic glimpse into the life of a great African American provides information on the post-Civil War world, race relations, and the struggle for civil rights. It will inspire readers and enhance character-education units. Pair this first purchase with the author's Jackie's Nine: Jackie Robinson's Values to Live By (Scholastic, 2001).-Tracy Bell, Durham Public Schools, NC Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Jackie Robinson's daughter tells the story of her father's life and accomplishments, paying particular attention to the profound effect he had on American culture. Robinson writes in a straightforward style that is accessible to young readers without being condescending. Of course, she stresses all the positive aspects of her father's character, but this is not meant to be a completely objective account. Instead, the reader finds an insider's view of Robinson as husband, father, and friend, as well as athlete, pioneer, and civil-rights activist. Many of these activities have been ignored, or glossed over, by other biographers of works for children. Illustrated with copious photographs and letters from the family's private collection, this is a unique perspective on a man whose story has become so much the stuff of legend that the real person is often obscured. An excellent and much-needed addition to the Jackie Robinson story. (Biography. 9-12)
Art & Photography
Book Info
