The Hero Two Doors Down by Sharon Robinson was provided by Scholastic,
a Platinum Sponsor of Multicultural Children's Book Day.
This review of The Hero Two Doors Down is a part of Multicultural Children's Book Day (MCBD). The mission of MCBD is to raise awareness of the need to include children’s books that celebrate diversity on bookshelves at home and at school.
About the Book
The Hero Two Doors Down celebrates diversity by reminding us that friendship isn't bound by the color of a person's skin or the religious customs they observe. This heartwarming story is based on the true story of the friendship between Jackie Robinson, a legendary African American baseball player and a young Jewish boy named Steve Satlow, who looked to Jackie as a hero.
SEVEN THEMES READERS WILL FIND WHILE READING THIS BOOK
1. BASEBALL
It's 1948 and Steve Satlow is a dedicated Brooklyn Dodgers fan. He and his dad spend a lot of time following the team – Jackie Robinson’s baseball team. Steve’s somewhat lackluster life takes a sharp turn when the African American family rumored to be moving into his all-Jewish neighborhood, turns out to be the Robinson family. Steve would now be living two doors down from his all-time hero, Jackie Robinson!
2. CIVIL RIGHTS
When one of Steve’s neighbors makes a snide remark about the African American family moving into their all-Jewish neighborhood, Steve gets upset. He reflects on the hate Jackie Robinson had encountered simply because his skin was black. While the book doesn’t dwell on the civil rights issues surrounding the Robinson’s move to the Jewish neighborhood, it does open the door for a discussion about it.
3. REAL FRIENDSHIP
Jackie Robinson was Steve’s hero long before Steve ever met Jackie, but an even deeper admiration and love blossomed when the young boy was able to get to know Jackie as a friend. Sometimes Steve had a hard time at school and Jackie would show up and somehow make things better. It was refreshing to watch the friendship grow.
4. GOOD CHARACTER
Young readers are able to learn about Jackie Robinson’s character. They learn what makes Jackie a hero not just on the baseball field, but also off the baseball field. It’s a great lesson in humility and kindness. Although Jackie was a baseball legend, he was still approachable. He was kind, caring, and friendly.
5. HEROES
Young readers will be delighted to watch as Steve gets a chance to meet his hero. Most children have heroes whom they dream of one day meeting. While there's only a small chance that we will meet our heroes, this story is a reminder that anything is possible.
6. NOT JUST BASEBALL
The initial thought is to offer The Hero Two Doors Down only to readers who like baseball, but that would be a mistake. Baseball is just one theme of the book. Other themes like friendship, perseverance, and family traditions extends the reach of this book to children of all interests.
7. PERSEVERANCE
Jackie says to Steve: “You’ve got to keep moving on and up. You’ll become your best self if you stay focused, set goals, and don’t let anyone stop you from making your dreams come true.” There are a lot of lessons we could all learn from the life that Jackie Robinson lived!
FINAL THOUGHTS
The Hero Two Doors Down is a great book for learning about the value of true friendship. Friendship isn't limited by the color of a person's skin or the religious customs a person observes. Sometimes the most unlikely friendships can last a lifetime, as evidenced by the real-life pictures of the Robinson and Satlow families included in the back of the book. (current as of the book's publishing)
ABOUT JACKIE ROBINSON
Jackie Robinson was the first African American to join baseball’s major league in 1947 as a prominent member of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson’s belief in equality gave him the chance to bring the message to America and the world that race should not be a consideration for anything. via History for Kids
EDUCATION EXTENSION ACTIVITIES
This review is a part of the Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2017 (1/27/17) The following information was shared by MCBD:
MCBD is in its fourth year and was founded by Valarie Budayr from Jump Into A Book and Mia Wenjen from Pragmatic Mom.
The mission of MCBD is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kid’s books that celebrate diversity in home and school bookshelves while also working diligently to get more of these types of books into the hands of young readers, parents and educators.
Despite census data that shows 37% of the US population consists of people of color, only 10% of children’s books published have diversity content. Using the Multicultural Children’s Book Day holiday, the MCBD Team are on a mission to change all of that.
Current Sponsors: MCBD 2017 is honored to have some amazing Sponsors on board. Platinum Sponsors include Scholastic, Barefoot Books and Broccoli. Other Medallion Level Sponsors include heavy-hitters like Author Carole P. Roman, Audrey Press, Candlewick Press, Fathers Incorporated, KidLitTV, Capstone Young Readers, ChildsPlayUsa, Author Gayle Swift, Wisdom Tales Press, Lee& Low Books, The Pack-n-Go Girls, Live Oak Media, Author Charlotte Riggle, Chronicle Books and Pomelo Books Author Sponsor include: Karen Leggett Abouraya, Veronica Appleton, Susan Bernardo, Kathleen Burkinshaw, Delores Connors, Maria Dismondy, D.G. Driver, Geoff Griffin, Savannah Hendricks, Stephen Hodges, Carmen Bernier-Grand,Vahid Imani, Gwen Jackson, Hena, Kahn, David Kelly, Mariana Llanos, Natasha Moulton-Levy, Teddy O'Malley, Stacy McAnulty, Cerece Murphy, Miranda Paul, Annette Pimentel, Greg Ransom, Sandra Richards, Elsa Takaoka, Graciela Tiscareño-Sato, Sarah Stevenson, Monica Mathis-Stowe SmartChoiceNation, Andrea Y. Wang LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR SPONSORS
CoHost Team: We’d like to also give a shout-out to MCBD’s impressive CoHost Team who not only hosts the book review link-up on celebration day, but who also work tirelessly to spread the word of this event. View our Co Hosts HERE.
