Fans of the author's Honus & Me (Avon, 1997) know that young Joe Stoshack has the ability to visit the past via baseball cards. As part of a project for Black History Month, he gets his mitt on a loaned Jackie Robinson card to visit 1947 New York City and the man who broke the major league baseball color line. Not only does Joe travel back in time over 50 years, stay at the Robinson's apartment, and become a bat boy for the Dodgers, but he is also transformed from a Polish American into an African American, introducing some interesting perspectives on race in the mid-20th century. The book is accurate in its baseball statistics, the geography and lingo of Brooklyn, and, unfortunately, in some of the harsh racial terms applied to African Americans in the 1940s. Fans of America's favorite pastime will particularly appreciate the detail and descriptions of some great games, including the 1947 World Series. An interesting addendum puts the story into further historical context and explains some of the liberties the author took writing the book. Full of action, this title will spark history discussions and be a good choice for book reports and leisure reading.
-Andrew Medlar, Chicago Public Library, IL (School Library Journal)
