A good beginner's bio, "American Hero" puts Jackie's accomplishments in context, and talks about what he dealt with beyond just the popcorn-throwing corwds we saw on T.V. This was written by a relative, so it has both the good parts, like his childhood relationships and personality growth, and the bad parts, like too many one-off 'important' facts about this or that relative. They are important to the family. Kids around the country won't have the context to use that info though. The book does a good job of showing his decision-making throughout his life, it makes his life make sense, and gave me a new appreciation for the toughness and choices that Jackie made.
I'd recommend for readers who are baseball fans, interested in black history, and those looking for a role-model-type book. 3rd grade and up probably for reading level, maybe an advanced 2nd-grader could read this.

Jackie Robinson was born on January 31, 1919 on Sasser farm near Cairo, Georgia. Jackie grew up during the time of segregation. He attended college, but did not complete his degree. Instead Jackie Robinson signed to a semiprofessional football team. This was only the beginning of Jackie’s career in sports. Jackie Robinson later became the first black player in the National League, one of two divisions in Major League Baseball Activist.

This was an informative read on baseball and black history. Jackie Robinson helped form and change a sport. He also informed the read about outside events like NAACP and how he was treated differently because of his race.

I like the organization of the book because it went from major events or moments in his life to the next while still allowing the reader to keep up with the pace of his life. The book also has good accuracy.

I also like how the pictures in the book supports the text. You can see who Jackie Robinson was and everyone else he mentions throughout the book. ( )

To begin, the organization of the book is very impressive. There is a table of contents, titles for each section, bordered images, and captions under real images to describe them. In high school, I was surrounded by baseball and had learned briefly about Jackie Robinson through movies, but this biography taught me a lot. I learned that: he was born in 1919, his grandparents were former slaves and he never knew his father, he got into some trouble with a gang called Pepper Street Gang, his brother Frankie died in a motorcycle accident, and he had a great love for baseball. I actually read this book twice, the first to see what it was about, the second to admire and learn some more ( )

Jackie Robinson was the first black major league baseball player. It talks about how Jackie grew up with segregation. He graduated college and became a solider. Jackie was a solid baseball player and tried to join to major league but the owner warned him that pitchers would probably throw balls at his head but Jackie wasn't afraid. He joined the Dodgers and was a great player. The books really makes you realize all the challenges Jackie went through during his lifetime. The book discusses all the factual things about Jackie until his death. I learned a lot about how Jackie struggled to get into the major leagues but overcame the hurdle and became a great ball player. I learned that he is in the Hall of Fame and "A Lasting Legacy." ( )

Jackie Robinson American Hero is a biography about the first African-American MLB baseball player, Jackie Robinson. The books talks about Jackie's life starting with his childhood and ending with his death and legacy. The book covers everything that Jackie had to go through in order for him to end up playing for a MLB team as the first African-American, and nothing about that was easy for him. I enjoyed this book because I got to really understand all the obstacles Jackie had to overcome to get him where he ended up and not many people know the challenges that were thrown at him. Before reading this book I wasn't aware of everything Jackie was put through, just that he was in the Hall of Fame and "A Lasting Legacy." We got to see a glimpse of what Jackie's life was really like and meet special people along the way, for example his wife Rachel and their three children. I read another biography on Jackie Robinson and I liked this one better because it had more facts and went more into detail. I do believe the audience for this book is best for older students ranging from maybe third or fourth to sixth/seventh grade and the other book for grade levels second and third. ( )