Includes, Author’s Note, Bibliography, Stats.

This author/illustrator brings to life the dream of a boy in an era of segregation. With Jackie Robinson as a role model, Aaron journeys from Negro Leagues to the minors, and finally to the majors. Author’s Note, Aaron’s Baseball Statistics, Bibliography.

This was the second book I read about Henry Aaron and I enjoyed the other book "Hank Aaron: Brave in every way" more. The books had different facts and told the story differently. I feel that this book goes into maybe a little to much detail about his baseball career making the story more drawn out and less intriguing. I feel as though this book was more about his career then about his life.The other book I read started as a baby and how he grew up with his family. I felt that one was more personal.

In this story it starts when he was 12 by saying that he always wanted to play baseball but talking more about the segregation of parks as children playing ball. On Aoril 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson played his first game with the Dodgers. This book talked more about Jackie Robinson and his struggles in the major leagues then the other book. Henry saw Jackie play in Mobile at Hartwell Field. In 1951, he began playing with the Mobile Black Bears. This book mentions how Henry went to a training camp for Dodger scouts but they were not impressed and he went back home. Something this book mentions that the other did now was how he finished high school and began playing for the Indianapolis Clowns. While on the road, they slept on buses every night and almost never stopped to eat because restaurants would not allow them. After hitting a home run, the Braves offered him a contract in the minor leagues. In 1953, he spent another season in the minors, and then was promoted from Class C to Class A in Jacksonville, Florida. The other book never mentioned that he was in different minor leagues. In the winter, Henry played ball in Puerto Rico and for the first time struggled at the plate. He got to play due to the injury of two players and was put at the top of the batting list and starting line up for second basemen. He hit a home run that day and never left the starting line up. On the last day of spring training, he signed a major league contract. The Braves played an exhibition game at Hartwell Field against the Dodgers where his family and neighbors were all there to cheer Henry play. Henry beat the throw of Jackie Robinson to home plate to become safe. The book ends with saying Aaron had a dream, he never gave up and his dreams came true. ( )

Summary: Henry Aaron's Dream is a nonfiction book about Hank Aaron's dream to be a big league ball player in a time before African Americans were allowed to play on all white baseball teams. Henry grew up in Mobile, Alabama, and looked up to his hero, Jackie Robinson. Henry taught himself to play baseball and eventually started playing in the Negro Leagues. After playing with them for awhile, he gets a chance to play with the Braves on a minor league contract, but when the Braves' starting center fielder sprains his ankle, Henry gets a chance to be in the starting line up, and his dream came true. Henry became one of the best all-around players in the major leagues, and and spoke out about the racial injustice he faced in baseball.

Personal Connection: I LOVED the bright illustrations in this text, and how it read easily like poetry. Tavares also did an excellent making the true story of Henry Aaron read like a fictional story, with a good use of bolded text to emphasis key information along the way. I also like that it wasn't an insurmountable amount of text on the page, and that more information about Henry Aaron is provided in the back of the text.

Extras:
-Meet the author/book reading: https://www.teachingbooks.net/book_reading.cgi?id=11062
-Interview with author: https://www.teachingbooks.net/interview.cgi?id=130
-Author website: http://www.matttavares.com/
-Orbis Pictus Award, 2011

Application to Teaching: I would keep this book in my student library for reading and browsing- although it is a bit high in level, the text is easy to decode and the bright illustrations make it an excellent book to "read the pictures." I also like that it incorporates history (with the Civil Rights Movement), characters of color, and poetry. It could also be used for an independent study project on baseball, famous people throughout history, or people of color who have impacted history- but not just during February (Black history month)! ( )

This picture book is a great story for older students. This book covers themes such as racism and segregation which may be more appropriate for older students. In my opinion, I liked and disliked this book for several reasons. One reason I disliked this book was for the language the author used. It was detailed, but it used many baseball terms such as "double-header" and "minor and major league" which are unfamiliar to readers like me who do not have background knowledge about baseball. Other than this, I liked the book because it pushes readers to think about racism and the hardships that the Africans Americans went through to obtain what was easy for whites. In one instance in the story, the team goes out to a restaurant to celebrate a win. However, the stars of the team, the black players, were not allowed in the restaurant. Another reason I liked this book was the text features that accompanied the story. The story had bold text which highlighted important details or quotes of the text. For example, the terms "whites only" and "blacks only" were bold for emphasis. The end of the story also explicitly stated the message of the story. The message was that despite all the challenges that faced him, Henry Aaron, just like Jackie Robinson, was able to achieve his dream. ( )