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THE STORY OF NEGRO LEAGUE BASEBALL

Name: THE STORY OF NEGRO LEAGUE BASEBALL
Author: William Brashler
ISBN: 0-395-67169-8

by William Brashler ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 1, 1994

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The author of The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings (1973) and a biography of Josh Gibson chronicles not just the rise and demise of the Negro Leagues, but the history of African- Americans in baseball from the post-Civil War era to the 1950s. He picks a handful of stars to profile and paints an engaging picture of the wild and wonderful style and variety of black pro and semipro ball—played by barnstormers and clowns, as well as the all-star teams that regularly faced (and frequently beat) white major leaguers. After pointing an accusatory finger at Cap Anson, the player/owner who was most influential in creating the ``Gentlemen's Agreement'' that excluded blacks from the Major Leagues, and at Commissioner Landis, who perpetuated it, Brashler perceptively analyzes the interlocking web of factors and circumstances that finally dismantled that barrier and pays fine tribute to the talent and character of Jackie Robinson. On the other hand, though he bases some of his narrative on interviews with Cool Papa Bell and other Negro Leaguers, their insights are not much in evidence aside from scattered, colorful sound bites, and his coverage of baseball in Latin America is sketchy. Several recent books, most notably Gardner and Shortelle's The Forgotten Players: The Story of Black Baseball in America (1993) and the McKissacks' Black Diamond: The Story of the Negro Baseball Leagues (1994) cover the same territory in equivalent detail. Sturdy but supplementary. Index; bibliography; occasional small b&w photos. (Nonfiction. 11-15)

Pub Date: July 1, 1994

ISBN: 0-395-67169-8

Page Count: 166

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1994

Categories:

TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FICTION

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THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS

by John Boyne ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 12, 2006

Certain to provoke controversy and difficult to see as a book for children, who could easily miss the painful point.

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After Hitler appoints Bruno’s father commandant of Auschwitz, Bruno (nine) is unhappy with his new surroundings compared to the luxury of his home in Berlin.

The literal-minded Bruno, with amazingly little political and social awareness, never gains comprehension of the prisoners (all in “striped pajamas”) or the malignant nature of the death camp. He overcomes loneliness and isolation only when he discovers another boy, Shmuel, on the other side of the camp’s fence. For months, the two meet, becoming secret best friends even though they can never play together. Although Bruno’s family corrects him, he childishly calls the camp “Out-With” and the Fuhrer “Fury.” As a literary device, it could be said to be credibly rooted in Bruno’s consistent, guileless characterization, though it’s difficult to believe in reality. The tragic story’s point of view is unique: the corrosive effect of brutality on Nazi family life as seen through the eyes of a naïf. Some will believe that the fable form, in which the illogical may serve the objective of moral instruction, succeeds in Boyne’s narrative; others will believe it was the wrong choice.

Certain to provoke controversy and difficult to see as a book for children, who could easily miss the painful point. (Fiction. 12-14)

Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2006

ISBN: 0-385-75106-0

Page Count: 224

Publisher: David Fickling/Random

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2006

Categories:

TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FICTION | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT HISTORICAL FICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
ALL THE BROKEN PLACES
by John Boyne

- BOOK REVIEW
A TRAVELER AT THE GATES OF WISDOM
by John Boyne

- BOOK REVIEW
A LADDER TO THE SKY
by John Boyne

- SEEN & HEARD
Author in Twitter Feud with Auschwitz Museum

- SEEN & HEARD
‘Boy in the Striped Pajamas’ Sequel in the Works

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THE SUMMER I TURNED PRETTY

by Jenny Han ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 5, 2009

The wish-fulfilling title and sun-washed, catalog-beautiful teens on the cover will be enticing for girls looking for a...

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Han’s leisurely paced, somewhat somber narrative revisits several beach-house summers in flashback through the eyes of now 15-year-old Isabel, known to all as Belly.

Belly measures her growing self by these summers and by her lifelong relationship with the older boys, her brother and her mother’s best friend’s two sons. Belly’s dawning awareness of her sexuality and that of the boys is a strong theme, as is the sense of summer as a separate and reflective time and place: Readers get glimpses of kisses on the beach, her best friend’s flirtations during one summer’s visit, a first date. In the background the two mothers renew their friendship each year, and Lauren, Belly’s mother, provides support for her friend—if not, unfortunately, for the children—in Susannah’s losing battle with breast cancer. Besides the mostly off-stage issue of a parent’s severe illness there’s not much here to challenge most readers—driving, beer-drinking, divorce, a moment of surprise at the mothers smoking medicinal pot together.

The wish-fulfilling title and sun-washed, catalog-beautiful teens on the cover will be enticing for girls looking for a diversion. (Fiction. 12-14)