Satchel Paige
Overview:
This story tells of a humble beginning of a African American baseball player and going through a world full of racism and bigotry. We see him growing up hurling rocks at chickens, we see him getting into trouble with drugs and alcohol and even family troubles. Until he eventually joined an all-black league in the future when he was extremely successful. But once the team started not to be segregated anymore you read about his adjustment to the new stricter ruleset but needing to adapt.
Review:
Ok, to be transparent as possible I don’t really like baseball or know much about it. So, it has impacted my view a lot. Indeed, his story is inspiring, but it is missing many enjoyments from this book and what I believe may other books has done better. Saying this, its by no means awful I just believe its average in its execution and is too personalized to those who know about baseball where it looks like their focus lies. But as for classroom use at young ages, it probably won’t be remembered very long by the many other stories like it. The art is well done however with the shading and coloring being superb and unique which I hoped the story would reflect in quality. The word difficulty was fine, and I can see this being used for a 2nd-4th grade level but nothing too challenging which I believe Is what we want from books. Interesting information was nearly non-existent and overall enjoyment was lacking. I can see having a story to be Personalized to a type of reader. However, regarding a classroom it may be Too personalized for a normal student to form any meaningful connection to the character.

Memorability 2/5
Art 4.5/5
Enjoyment 2/5
Word Difficulty 2/5
Interesting info 1/5
Overall: 2/5 below average book
Best Use: Shelved for a student who finds it interesting to pick up. ( )

Satchel Paige is a biography written by Lesa-Cline Ransome and painted by James E. Ransome. Satchel Paige is about an African American baseball player named Leroy Paige. Leroy started throwing a baseball at a very young age. Although he was very good and had obvious talent, he was also on the move to make money for his family. He got his nick name "satchel" from carrying bags for people at the train station. He would take a wooden bar, and hang several bags at one time and carry them for the travelers, like a satchel. Leroy was always trying to make more money, which eventually led him to reform school where he joined the baseball team. Satchel went on to being a semipro pitcher, and he was REAL good. He then joined the Negro major leagues and people followed him where he went, always cheering and screaming for him. Life went on, and he eventually got married but he couldn't stay away from baseball. In 1948, when he was 42 years old he was offered a position with the Cleveland Indians. He had a very hard time following the rules. Eventually in 1953, he retired.

I really love the illustrations in this book. The reason I love it so much is because its painted, and not colored or drawn!

Satchel Paige was the 1st African American to be drafted. He was also the first black player that was put in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Satchel is known to have had one of the best baseball careers in history! ( )

I enjoyed reading about Satchel Paige. I really enjoyed how this biography got a little deeper into his younger life and how he came about loving baseball. I know that made this story more interesting for me and it will make it interesting for students as well. Overall, I enjoyed this book and i learned a lot. I would read this book again. ( )

This book could be used as an interactive read aloud for a third-grade class. It would suit their comprehension levels and they would enjoy the sports story and learn about the injustices in earlier America. As an interactive read aloud, students would only have to listen to this lengthier picture book and would be able to answer questions about the text and practice retelling from memory after the read aloud.

In my opinion this is a great book. The book was about Satchel Paige, who was a baseball player dealing with issues because of his race. He was a phenomenal baseball player, but the color of his skin kept him from playing in Major League Baseball. The book tells his story of playing in the Negro Leagues and how he eventually is allowed to play in Major League Baseball. The first thing I liked about this book was the plot. The story was very organized and was told over a period of time. The plot included minor tension and conflict, but it was nothing that Satchel could not overcome. Second, I liked the characters in the book. For example, Satchel Paige was a strong and hardworking character. This was expressed in the book when Satchel Paige was not allowed to be in certain hotels or get certain food, but that did not discourage him. Instead, he kept going on with his life and his career. Overall, the big idea of this story is strength and honor. Satchel Paige came a long way and was denied many things over his time in baseball, but he never gave up and as a result became a legend. ( )