I thought this book was extremely informative. It had a lot of details regarding the life of Roy Campanella. One thing I noticed is that this book went from the beginning of his life to the end which is something I haven’t noticed much in biographies. I also thought that this story was a bit lengthy. It was hard to continue to stay engaged because of the over whelming amount of information. Overall, I did gain knowledge from the book and I enjoyed it. ( )

Roy Campanella was born to an Italian American father and an African American mother, at a time when segregation was very widespread. Roy’s family lived in a mixed community, and Roy began working at the age of twelve. He woke up at two o’clock in the morning to deliver milk. From a young age, Roy loved baseball. He and his friends would play a variation of baseball in the streets after school, and Roy loved to watch the Philadelphia Athletics Major League Baseball games. He even decorated his bedroom with his favorite baseball players! Roy played catcher, and he became a great athlete. At age fifteen, Roy joined one of the best baseball teams in the Negro League. After quitting school and playing in the Negro Leagues for a few years, he was invited to play in the Brooklyn Dodgers system. Eventually, he got moved up to play with the Major League Brooklyn Dodgers; he was Major League Baseball’s first African American pitcher. Roy was in a bad car accident, and was never able to play baseball again. He didn’t let that stop his love of baseball. Roy began training other baseball players as a Spring Training coach for the Dodgers. Roy Campanella was elected into Baseball’s Hall of Fame in 1969. I believe Roy Campanella was extremely inspiring to people in his life. He showed other African Americans that they could achieve what they set their minds to. Roy also kept a positive attitude and continued to follow his heart and his love of baseball even after suffering a horrific accident. ( )

Does not appear to have a strong tie to current curriculum as listed. But great for touching on diversity and integration.Some citizenship for 2-5.

I didn't know this was a biography type of book, but it would be an easy read for a younger child that is interested in baseball.

Brief but well written biograpy of baseball legend Roy Campanella who broke the color barrier of major league baseball and played with the Brooklyn Dodgers along with Jackie Robinson. He is equally famous for a car accident at the height of his career that left him almost killed him and left him a quadriplegic and almost killed him. Very well written and beautifully illustrated, the back pages of the work include a timeline, quotes of note and a short list of suggested readings. Very well done. ( )