Bernard is a huge fan of the Boston Red Sox, but the young black boy wonders when they will field a player who looks like him.Every year he and his family see a game at Fenway, though they don't always feel welcome there. Jackie Robinson has retired, and all the other Major League Baseball teams have African-American players. Even basketball's Boston Celtics and hockey's Boston Bruins have integrated, but the Red Sox owners continue to resist. Spring training 1959 brings a ray of hope. Pumpsie Green has a chance at making the team. But he is deemed "not ready." After fan protests, newspaper editorials, and a drop into last place, Pumpsie is finally called up to the Red Sox. Bernard attends Pumpsie's first game at Fenway, acutely aware that he is witnessing history. Pumpsie will never be a star but has a solid journeyman career. Wittenstein is scrupulously accurate in his portrayal of time, place, baseball, and characters real and imagined, allowing Bernard to narrate in the language of the 1950s, speaking directly to readers in an earnest, joyous voice that resonates with emotion. Ladd's wonderfully detailed acrylic-and-colored pencil illustrations powerfully and beautifully complement and enhance the events. The family glows with personality, and the baseball scenes are spot-on. Bernard is innocent, aware, and endlessly hopeful and will win readers hearts. A grand slam. (author's note, sources) (Picture book. 6-9)

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 years after Jackie Robinson "broke the color barrier" e 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 acknowledgment 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.

It's 1959, and the Boston Red Sox--the last all-white Major League Baseball team--finally call up a black player named Pumpsie Green. Fictional narrator Bernard, a young African American fan, earnestly relates what this means to him. Based on real events, Wittenstein's story doesn't gloss over the racism present, but ultimately it is buoyantly positive. Ladd's painterly acrylic illustrations add a nostalgic quality. Bib.

Bernard is a huge fan of the Boston Red Sox, but the young black boy wonders when they will field a player who looks like him.Every year he and his family see a game at Fenway, though they don't always feel welcome there. Jackie Robinson has retired, and all the other Major League Baseball teams have African-American players. Even basketball's Boston Celtics and hockey's Boston Bruins have integrated, but the Red Sox owners continue to resist. Spring training 1959 brings a ray of hope. Pumpsie Green has a chance at making the team. But he is deemed "not ready." After fan protests, newspaper editorials, and a drop into last place, Pumpsie is finally called up to the Red Sox. Bernard attends Pumpsie's first game at Fenway, acutely aware that he is witnessing history. Pumpsie will never be a star but has a solid journeyman career. Wittenstein is scrupulously accurate in his portrayal of time, place, baseball, and characters real and imagined, allowing Bernard to narrate in the language of the 1950s, speaking directly to readers in an earnest, joyous voice that resonates with emotion. Ladd's wonderfully detailed acrylic-and-colored pencil illustrations powerfully and beautifully complement and enhance the events. The family glows with personality, and the baseball scenes are spot-on. Bernard is innocent, aware, and endlessly hopeful and will win readers hearts. A grand slam. (author's note, sources) (Picture book. 6-9)