Testing the Ice: A True Story About Jackie Robinson
Grade 1–3—An affectionate tribute to Robinson's father's courage and character. In 1955, the family leaves New York City for a lakeside home in an idyllic, woodsy setting in Connecticut. Sharon and her brothers quickly make friends with the neighborhood kids and spend much of their time playing in and around the lake, though she notices that her dad never joins them in the water. Her new friends are awestruck by him and his stories of his breakthrough into the Major Leagues. When he bravely tests the ice so that the children can play on the frozen lake, Sharon realizes that he can't swim. Robinson neatly sums up the significance of her father's achievements while depicting him as a loving family man. Nelson's large paintings, done in pencil, watercolor, and oils, dramatically convey Robinson's public persona, the intensely competitive athlete, and contrasts that with the relaxed, yet commanding father Sharon and her brothers knew. This book is for a younger audience than the author'sJackie's Nine: Jackie Robinson's Values to Live By(2001) andPromises to Keep: How Jackie Robinson Changed America(2004, both Scholastic), but it adds another facet to children's understanding of the man and should resonate with a wide range of readers.—Marilyn Taniguchi, Beverly Hills Public Library, CAEND