42 Is Not Just A Number: The Odyssey of Jackie Robinson, American Hero by Doreen Rappaport

From Goodreads,

"An eye-opening look at the life and legacy of Jackie Robinson, the man who broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball and became an American hero.

Baseball, basketball, football -- no matter the game, Jackie Robinson excelled. His talents would have easily landed another man a career in pro sports, but such opportunities were closed to athletes like Jackie for one reason: his skin was the wrong color. Settling for playing baseball in the Negro Leagues, Jackie chafed at the inability to prove himself where it mattered most: the major leagues. Then in 1946, Branch Rickey, manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, recruited Jackie Robinson. Jackie faced cruel and sometimes violent hatred and discrimination, but he proved himself again and again, exhibiting courage, determination, restraint, and a phenomenal ability to play the game. In this compelling biography, award-winning author Doreen Rappaport chronicles the extraordinary life of Jackie Robinson and how his achievements won over -- and changed -- a segregated nation."

Goodreads - 42 Is Not Just A Number

I read The Hero Two Doors Down a while back and actually placed the book in my classroom library.  Some of my boys read the book and absolutely loved it.  I purchased this book in hopes that more boys would find a book they would enjoy reading that was a rough and tough book about strength and sports. 

This book is nonfiction and is written in third person narrative.  It tells the story of Jackie Robinson from the time he was a child until he conquered segregation in major league baseball.

This book was a little disappointing in my opinion.  By the time I finished I had a few complaints.  The first problem was that this book had no pictures in it except for the cover photo and a picture of Jackie Robinson on the back.  I think it would have been really beneficial to include a couple insert pages that had photos or even including pictures throughout the book itself.  There were a couple historic moments mentioned in the book that would have been nice to have a picture right there with it, but instead I had to go look up the picture myself. 

Another problem I had was the way this book was written.  This book was very dry.  The information was thrown at us quickly and I felt like I didn't really have time to process it all.  The first few chapters were short as they captured a few moments in Jackie's childhood.  The chapters got a little lengthier as the book went on into his adulthood, but there was still something that didn't sit right with me.  Each chapter was an important moment or milestone for Jackie, and I think that that took away from a good progression in the book.  One chapter would take place in one year, then the next chapter would be a few years later.  I felt like there were gaps in this which made me wonder what was going on in that time frame that wasn't included for us.  I'm a firm believer that if you are going to tell us the story of someone or something, then you need to be committed to doing it justice by giving us all the details. 

I think that some of my boys would enjoy this book, but I think that many would find it boring.  I expected so much more out of this book.  I was very disappointed and unfortunately have to give it 2 out of 5 stars.  I'm going to place this in my classroom library in hopes that some kiddo likes baseball decides to read it.