"Negro baseball was fast! Flashy! Daring! . . ." Young listeners will agree after hearing this compelling, accessible history of the players who, when they were shut out of major league baseball, loved the game so much that they found a way to keep playing. Dion Graham's enthusiastic, welcoming narration is a perfect match for the text. He helps the cast of characters—Rube Foster, Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, James "Cool Papa" Bell—step right out of history and puts listeners with them in the dugout and on the bus traveling from game to game. A bonus CD includes an interactive slide-show gallery of Kadir Nelson's gorgeous, evocative illustrations so that listeners can put faces to all the names.
Ages 8+Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2008
Duration: 2 hrs
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Much has been written on Jackie Robinson's groundbreaking career and legacy, but it's nice to see a well-done synopsis covering the highlights of his life for young people. Narrator JD Jackson carries the story as he conveys the importance of Robinson's life without overdramatization. It covers Robinson's growing up, time in the Army, and deliberate recruitment for the purpose of breaking Major League baseball's color barrier. Jackson gives various players, coaches, and individuals--including Robinson's wife, Rachel--slight accents. His steady, animated narration reflects the well-researched book and is sure to hold the attention of both young and older listeners.
(Biography. 10-13)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2017
Duration: 2 hrs, 15 mins
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Narrators John Lithgow and Kate Mulgrew alternately share poems and songs created by Fred Rogers for his long-standing television show. Rogers's messages affirm children and give voice to the myriad feelings, good and bad, that all people feel from time to time. Wonder, joy, questions, exploration, outsides and insides, a new baby, one-of-a-kindness, needs emotional and material are examples of the breadth of Rogers's words. Lithgow's voice has its own richness, reminiscent of Rogers's own. His tone is firm and straightforward. When his voice expresses the anger of a poem, for example, he soon becomes calm as the anger fades. Kate Mulgrew is equally genuine and sets a pace for children's consideration of each message.
(Poetry. 3-8)Pub Date: March 19, 2019
Duration: 1 hr, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781683691808
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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