From BOOKLIST

It's 1959. Growing up in an African American family of avid baseball fans, Bernard loves almost everything about the Red Sox, from listening to games on the radio to cheering on the players at Fenway. What's not to love? 

Well, there's the fact that some folks in the stands make rude, racist remarks and the injustice that—12 years after Jackie Robinson "broke the color barrier"—the team has never fielded a black player. Finally, under pressure, management hires Pumpsie Green. 

The story ends on a high note, with everyone celebrating as Green contributes to a Red Sox win. Weaving in facts, emotions, and perspective, the first-person text makes it easy to empathize with Bernard's point of view. 

The acrylic and colored-pencil illustrations feature good characterizations, strong compositions, and dramatic ball-park scenes. 

A closing author's note fills in some baseball history. With its tacit acknowledgement that social change is a slow process and that racism was not confined to the South, this picture book contributes to children's understanding of America's past, while telling a good story.