It is 1947 and Yankee fever grips the Bronx. Nine-year-old Joey Sexton joins the neighborhood kids who flock to the park to team up and play. However, Joey is of mixed race and his skin is lighter than the other kids'. He is seldom picked. When Joey's mother dies, he is sent to live with his mother's estranged family. Joey is whisked away to Brooklyn. Though it's just across town, it might as well be a different world. His grandfather, his aunt Frieda, and his ten-year-old cousin Roberta are not only white, they are Jewish. Joey knows nothing about Brooklyn or Judaism. The only thing that's constant is the baseball madness that grips the community. Only this time, the heroes aren't Joey's beloved Yankees. They are the Brooklyn Dodgers, especially Jackie Robinson, a man whose struggle to integrate baseball helped set the stage for black America's struggle for acceptance and civil rights. Joey's story takes readers to a time when America's favorite pastime became a battleground for human rights.
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A 2007 Association of Jewish Libraries Notable Book for Older Readers:
Nine-year-old Joey Sexton, living in the Bronx in 1947, has just lost his mother and discovers that his estranged father has also died. He is surprised to find out that his mother's sister, whom he has never met, is willing to welcome him into her home. While he immediately strikes up a friendship with his cousin, the rest of the family and their neighbors aren't as accepting since Joey is what they call a "half-breed," born to a Jewish mother and an African-American father. Inspired by Jackie Robinson, and... more info
