My selection is "Teammates" written by Peter Golenbock and illustrated by Paul Bacon.
Golenbock, a well-known sports writer, provides young readers with a thoughtful account of Jackie Robinson's selection as the first Negro League player to join a major league team, the Brooklyn Dodgers. He skillfully tells the story of Branch Rickey's hiring of Robinson , the challenges Robinson faced from both a hostile public and fellow players and the actions of Pee wee Reese in support of his teammate.
Robinson was a target for verbal abuse, physical attacks and death threats, but Reese refused to participate in the harassment and is remembered for the moment when he offered a supporting arm to Robinson in an action that silenced fans, players and critics and is commemorated by a statue in Brooklyn's Coney Island Keyspan Park.
Bacon's illustrations are combined with photographs to provide readers with an authentic sense of the life and times of this baseball legend.
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