Henry Aaron's Dream: Candlewick Biographies

by Matt Tavares, Matt Tavares (Illustrator)

Overview

“This rousing tribute should resonate with a wide audience." —School Library Journal (starred review)

Before he was Hammerin’ Hank, Henry Aaron was a young boy growing up in Mobile, Alabama, with what seemed like a foolhardy dream: to be a big-league baseball player. He didn’t have a bat. He didn’t have a ball. And there wasn’t a single black ballplayer in the major leagues. But none of this could stop him. In a captivating biography of Henry Aaron’s young life, Matt Tavares pays inspiring homage to one of baseball’s all-time greats.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763676544
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	02/10/2015
Series:	Candlewick Biographies
Edition description:	Reissue
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	1,047,516
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.30(d)
Lexile:	AD920L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

 

Editorial Reviews

Gr 3–5—This picture book pays homage to Aaron's strength of character and determination to play major league baseball. In 1940s Mobile, AL, young Aaron dreamed of playing though ballparks posted "Whites Only" signs and his father warned him, "Ain't no colored ballplayers." Then Mobile opened a "Colored Only" ball field, and, in 1947, Aaron learned that Jackie Robinson would play for the Brooklyn Dodgers. After high school, Aaron joined a Negro League team, the Indianapolis Clowns. It was apparent that his talents would take him to the major leagues. Older teammates cheered him on, though "it was already too late for them." A large watercolor illustration captures the poignant scene as his teammates watch Aaron, who has just hit a towering fly ball, start to circle the bases. In both the Negro Leagues and the minor leagues, Aaron and his teammates met racism and hardship. White fans jeered, segregated restaurants and motels turned them away, and ballplayers often slept on buses while traveling between games. Tavares ends his account in 1954 when Aaron, having won a starting position on the Milwaukee Braves, met his hero in an exhibition game in his hometown. Well-written text and brilliantly composed art highlight the poignancy and triumph in Aaron's story. This rousing tribute should resonate with a wide audience.—Marilyn Taniguchi, Beverly Hills Public Library, CA

School Library Journal

This book opens with a stark image: Readers look through a chain-link fence at white boys playing ball, a large WHITES ONLY sign dead center. When Henry Aaron was a boy in 1940s Mobile, Ala., he played with a broom handle instead of a bat until he was 12, when a COLORED ONLY field was opened. He held the bat the wrong way, but he could hit harder than anybody. Inspired by Jackie Robinson and his older teammates in the Negro Leagues, Aaron signed with the Braves, playing first in the South Atlantic League in Class A ball and then the Majors. Tavares describes in straightforward but resonant prose what Robinson, Aaron and other black players endured-colored-only audience sections at the ballpark; restaurants and hotels that would serve their white teammates but not them; vicious and foul language-ending his account with Aaron's first

Kirkus Reviews

04/27/2015
Tavares's (Lady Liberty) engaging biography focuses on Aaron's early baseball-playing years-before he was nicknamed Hank as a major leaguer. Growing up in Mobile, Ala., in the 1940s, he honed his skills at a "colored only" ballpark and dreamed of playing in the big leagues, despite his father's admonition, "Ain't no colored ballplayers." The author underscores the inspiration Jackie Robinson provided Aaron as the younger player held on to his dream despite setbacks on the field and racial prejudice. Using near identical language, the lyrical yet hard-hitting narrative describes the players' parallel experiences ("Some white fans called Henry a 'nigger.' Some even sent him letters, threatening to kill him if he kept playing"). Close-up portraits of Aaron on and off the field dominate Tavares's watercolor, ink, and pencil art. In the book's most rewarding-and exciting-scene, Aaron, a rookie for the Milwaukee Braves, finally shares the field with his hero during an exhibition game against the Brooklyn Dodgers, narrowly outrunning a throw from Robinson. A concluding note, with stats, tracks Aaron's later career. Ages 8-10. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

Well-written text and brilliantly composed art highlight the poignancy and triumph in Aaron’s story. This rousing tribute should resonate with a wide audience.
—School Library Journal (starred review)

A multi-layered treat. On one level it is an account of one of the most amazing hitters to ever play baseball, but it is also a valiant story of hope, resilience, perseverance, and love. The author paints a rich history lesson cloaked in sports.
—Library Media Connection (starred review)

Tavares’ vibrant artwork brings viewers into dingy dugouts, on cramped buses, and into the dust of the diamond as Aaron works his way into history.
—Booklist

Lyrical yet hard-hitting narrative… Close-up portraits of Aaron on and off the field dominate Tavares's watercolor, ink, and pencil art.
—Publishers Weekly (web exclusive)

The author illustrates his powerful words with extraordinary, heroic images: Muscular watercolor, ink and pencil pictures put readers right in the scene.
—Kirkus Reviews

Tavares’ vibrant artwork brings viewers into dingy dugouts, on cramped busses, and into the dust of the diamond as Aaron works his way into history. . . . The home-run record may have been stolen, but books like this ensure that Aaron’s legacy remains intact.
—Booklist

Memorable images of a memorable man.
—Chicago Tribune

Zachary's Ball is a children's classic. Now Henry Aaron's Dream is a masterpiece of a children's book.
—Peter Gammons, Hall of Fame baseball reporter

A compelling biography of Aaron's early years, from sandlot days, to the Negro Leagues, to his debut with the Milwaukee Braves; a nicely done homage to an all-time great.
—Pittsburghlive.com (Tribune-Review)

Tavares’ soft, warm illustrations capture the heart and silent determination of Aaron’s story in a way that’s accessible to readers of all ages.
—Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Although Hank Aaron is a popular subject for young readers, this book highlights his moving story with outstanding illustrations and includes an author’s note, a page of stats and a bibliography.
—Chicago Sun Times

Tavares’s illustrations – in watercolour, ink and pencil – capture the warmth and support of the black community, and the determination of figures like Robinson and Aaron to transcend racial stereotypes. The result is a picture book not only well suited to history classes, but an inspiration to children of all backgrounds to do the best they can and to follow their dreams.
—Montreal Gazette.com

Tavares’ color illustrations are as clear, exciting, and moving as his prose.
—San Francisco Chronicle

From the Publisher