"It was Opening Day, 1947. And every kid in Brooklyn knew this was our year. The Dodgers were going to go all the way!"
It is the summer of 1947 and a highly charged baseball season is underway in New York. Jackie Robinson is the new first baseman for the Brooklyn Dodgers-and the first black player in Major League Baseball. A young boy shares the excitement of Robinson's rookie season with his deaf father.
Each day he listens eagerly to the Brooklyn Dodgers games on the radio. When his father arrives home from work, the boy uses sign language to tell him about the Dodgers. His father begins to keep a scrapbook, clipping photos and articles about Jackie. Finally one day the father delivers some big news: they are going to Ebbets Field to watch Jackie play in person!
Author Myron Uhlberg offers a nostalgic look back at 1947, and pays tribute to Jackie Robinson, the legendary athlete and hero who brought a father and son-and an entire New York community-together for one magical summer. Illustrator Colin Bootman's realistic, full-color illustrations capture the details of the period and the excitement of an entire city as Robinson helps the Dodgers win the long-awaited pennant.
COLIN BOOTMAN was born in Trinidad but moved to the United State at the age of seven. A graduate of the School of Visual Arts in New York, he has illustrated numerous books for children, several of which have been named Bank Street Best Children's Books of the Year. Almost to Freedom was a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book. Bootman lives in New York City.
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