Just Like Jackie

October 1, 2017

Gr 5-8-Eleven-year-old Jackie wishes she could be more like her namesake, the great Jackie Robinson. She wishes she could let things roll off her shoulders, but she has a short fuse which keeps getting her in trouble at school. Alex, a classmate, teases Jackie for not having a mother and she winds up punching him right in the nose. This necessitates her Grandpa coming to school, which is Jackie's worst fear-she knows Grandpa is getting more forgetful with his words and actions, and she is afraid others will figure it out and take her away from the only family she has. Jackie has the weight of the world on her shoulders as she tries to take care of Grandpa without letting others know their secret-he is at his best when fixing cars and tapping the maple trees for syrup, but lately he's even having trouble doing those things. When a class project is assigned to complete a family tree, Jackie worries that it's already too late to tap Grandpa's memories and find out anything about her deceased mom. The school tries different tactics and Jackie is put into group guidance, which helps her realize even those who look like they have perfect lives may also be hiding problems. When Jackie is able to grow emotionally enough to realize family may not just be those you are related to by blood, she finally begins to open up. VERDICT A home-run story that will resonate with all who feel they might not fit into the perfect definition of a family.-Michele Shaw, Quail Run Elementary School, San Ramon, CA

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2017
A young, aspiring mechanic tries to get a grip on her anger at school before it reveals her worries at home.Eleven-year-old Robinson Hart can handle just about anything on her own, whether it's fixing cars, boiling Vermont maple sap into syrup, or playing baseball. The only thing she can't seem to get a handle on is her temper. She tries to do as her grandpa asks and be calm like her namesake, Jackie Robinson, under pressure, and she tries to do as the school guidance counselor has suggested and run through her favorite baseball stats in hot moments. But some moments push Robbie over the edge, like when the school bully calls her a "motherless Robin" or when adults question her family just because her grandpa is black and she is white-presenting. Family is a sore spot for Robbie in general, not only because she knows so little about hers, but because she doesn't want anyone to know that her grandpa--the only person who does know her family history--seems to be losing himself, forgetting which key opens the door or the end of his sentences or even Robbie's name. Stoddard debuts with a quiet but powerful narrative that gently unpacks Alzheimer's, centers mental health, and moves through the intimate and intense emotional landscape of family--what seems to break one and what can remake it.Validating, heart-rending, and a deft blend of suffering and inspiration. (Fiction. 9-12)

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Starred review from December 18, 2017
Stoddard’s gently powerful debut introduces a tough-as-nails fifth-grader coping with her grandfather’s worsening Alzheimer’s disease. Eleven-year-old Robinson “Robbie” Hart tries to emulate her cheek-turning namesake, Jackie Robinson, but her anger often explodes at school, threatening to expose her guardian grandfather’s failing memory. A family tree project brings Robbie’s anxiety to the forefront—she doesn’t even know her deceased mother’s name. Stoddard movingly contrasts Robbie’s anger (such as when she’s questioned about why she’s white and her grandfather is black) with the places she feels safe, including her grandfather’s garage, the baseball field, and the Vermont woods where she helps make maple syrup. The stakes increase as her grandfather’s memory lapses turn dangerous, resulting in an accident while boiling sap. An in-school therapy group helps Robbie recognize that some of her classmates are also struggling with the family tree project, as well as divorce, illness, and other problems. This emotionally honest, sensitively written novel confronts a range of difficult topics and offers an inclusive view of what family can look like. Ages 8–12. Agent: Stephen Barbara, Inkwell Management.

November 1, 2017
Grades 4-7 Named after the baseball great, biracial fifth-grader Robinson lives in rural Vermont with her African American grandfather. Things have been hard lately: Robinson keeps having run-ins with the class bully; she wants to know more about her birth mother; and Grandpa struggles to remember basic things around the house. She feels like she can't let anyone know the truth about Grandpa, the only other person on her family tree. Debut author Stoddard crafts a winning narrator in the baseball stat-loving Robinson, who cherishes fixing cars and tapping maple trees with Grandpa. Though readers who have experienced relatives with dementia may find the disease's portrayal quite softened from the harsh reality, there is much to admire in this layered story. In particular, the dynamics within a special small group at school, where Robinson works on anger management, and secondary characterssuch as Harold, Grandpa's right-hand man at the auto-body shop, who adopts a baby with his partnerring true. A beautiful story about the true meaning of family, perfect for fans of Lynda Mullaly Hunt.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)