Yogi: the life, loves and language of baseball legend Yogi Berra by Barb Rosenstock. unpgd. Calkins Creek/ Highlights, February, 2019. 9781629798240. (Review of FNG courtesy of publisher.)
One is not truly a fan of anything without becoming immersed in the history and culture of the thing - whether it's sports or Star Wars. Fact Friday features Yogi: the life, loves, and language of baseball legend Yogi Berra by Barb Rosenstock. It's the perfect introduction of Yogi Berra to young baseball fans.
Growing up poor in the Italian section of Saint Louis, Missouri, Lawdie Berra was surrounded by love. What's that you say? Lawdie? Yogi Berra was born Lorenzo Pietro Berra. Lorenzo is Americanized to Lawrence, a name Yogi's mom had trouble saying. He and his childhood pal, Joe Garagiola loved baseball and played every chance they could even though they couldn't afford uniforms or equipment. Garagiola's path to the major leagues and the Saint Louis Cardinals was easier than Berra's.
Author Rosenstock weaves an engaging story of a man who did not fit the quintessential ideal of a major league ballplayer who nonetheless, through grit, determination and love of the game became one of MLB's greatest legends. I always admired Berra, but never knew he was so bullied and insulted over his appearance.
The art just brims with energy and color and the backmatter is a baseball lover's dream - filled with stats, photos, extra information and "Yogi-isms."
I am definitely adding this one to my picture book biography unit! Yogi Berra is a first-purchase for any school or public library.
Twelve Days in May: Freedom Ride 1961 by Larry Dane Brimner. 111 p. Calkins Creek/ Highlights, October, 2017. 9781629795867. (Own)
Fact Friday features Twelve Days in May: Freedom Ride 1961 by Larry Dane Brimner. This is a riveting account of the stunning bravery of thirteen Civil Rights activists, young and old, and black and white, who board a Greyhound bus in Washington D.C. then headed south to challenge the Jim Crow laws that separated whites from blacks on buses, in waiting rooms, at lunch counters and just about everywhere. The deeper south they got, the more perilous their journey became until, just outside of Birmingham, Alabama, the police looked the other way while an angry mob stopped the bus and set fire to it with people inside. They blocked the door and when people jumped out the window to escape they were brutally beaten.
The book is profusely illustrated with black and white photos, some quite shocking. The design is somber and absorbing with its stark black pages and white font sprinkle with white backgrounds and black font. There is a post-script of sorts that relates the story of how college students from Nashville, Tennessee, led by Diane Nash complete the journey. Backmatter includes mini-biographies of the thirteen activists as well as an extensive bibliography, which includes books for both adult and young readers, videos and websites. Three pages of source notes are followed by an index.
Twelve Days in May is the 2018 winner of the Sibert Medal and belongs on every library shelf along with Mr. Brimner's other Civil Rights titles, Black and White and Birmingham Sunday.
Strike: the farm workers' fight for their rights by Larry Dane Brimner. 172 p. Calkins Creek/ Highlights, October 1, 2014. 9781590789971. (Finished copy courtesy of publisher for review.)
I'm sorry to say that I didn't know much about the migrant farmers. I always equated the United Farm Workers with Cesar Chavez. I am also embarrassed to admit that I never heard of Larry Itliong, nor did I know that there was a sizable number of Filipino field workers - enough for the growers to play the groups off of each other when faced with any worker wanting more pay or better conditions. Mr. Brimner's cogent narrative begins on September 8, 1965 and details the plight of the California farm workers within the context of the tension of the Sixties and the Great Depression as well. This strike/ boycott lasted for five long years seeing early supporter, Robert F. Kennedy's assassination.
Strike! is beautifully designed with colorful pages, large font size and plentiful black & white photos, maps and political cartoons to supplement the riveting text. I also liked that the captions and text boxes were in Spanish as well as English. Backmatter includes a timeline, source notes, bibliography and author note.
I always learn something when I read anything by Larry Dane Brimner. My first experience with Mr. Brimner's work was reading We are One: the story of Baynard Rustin was back in 2007, before I started blogging. In 2011, I found his 2010 book, Birmingham Sunday, which I reviewed here. Black and White, published a year later was equally compelling. Each of these would be great sources for the hero project our seventh grade does.
This is a 2014 favorite of mine and highly recommended for middle, high school and public libraries.
