Jackie Robinson, best known for breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball, has been the subject of many young people's biographies. Most highlight his famous 1945 conversation with the Dodger's manager Branch Rickey, who was looking for an outstanding Black player with "the guts not to fight back" when provoked by racists. Other books concentrate on Robinson's prowess as an athlete and his outstanding record as a baseball player. This biography does all that and more. Robinson grew up within a large, tight-knit family led by his mother, who taught him that his dark skin was a blessing. Proud to be Black, he had a lifelong record of responding to racial injustice, beginning when eight-year-old Robinson exchanged racial slurs with a white child and culminating with his increasingly public role within the civil rights movement during the 1950s, '60s, and '70s. The coauthors, who have separately written or edited books for adults about Robinson as well as the twentieth-century civil rights era, bring together a good deal of pertinent information, organize it well, and write in a straightforward, accessible style. Black-and-white photos illustrate the book and well-chosen quotes, sourced in the back matter, bring the voices of Robinson and his contemporaries into the narrative. An enlightening portrayal of an iconic American.

In this eye-opening biography, Williams (The Black Panthers, for adults) and Long (Three Lines in a Circle) detail the varied personal history of Jack Roosevelt Robinson (1919--1972), best known for being the first Black MLB player. In a beginning note, the authors contextualize quotations containing racist slurs: "We think it's important for readers to know--and feel--the words that white people used when trying to hurt Jack and other Black Americans." The book discusses how, throughout his life, Robinson felt as if he needed to be an "acceptable guest" to succeed in the athletic world. But beyond his sports persona, Robinson considered himself a "relentless and uncompromising Black freedom fighter," outspoken in his beliefs. Without minimizing Robinson's historic athletic prowess, the creators provide a potent look into his civil rights achievements by highlighting key moments from his life, including marching for integrated schools and raising money for burned churches in Birmingham. This well-researched volume--which includes b&w photographs throughout, accompanied by brief sidebars explaining key historical events--skillfully highlights one prominent Black figure's impact on America's history both on and off the ball field. Additional information concludes. Ages 10--14. (Sept.)