I read this book to the students in my Sunshine State Club. It's the story of a boy (Stephen) living two doors down from his hero, Jackie Robinson in Brooklyn in the year 1948. The book was written by Sharon Robinson (Jackie's daughter) and is based on "the true story of a friendship between a boy and a baseball legend."

The kids loved the book and it was fun to discuss what it was like to live in the 1940's. It's hard for them to imagine life without a cell phone, let alone life where you can only hear baseball on the radio, instead of watching on tv. We learned about Jackie Robinson and his courage and integrity. We learned about egg creams, transistor radios, and stoopball. And we learned about what it was like to live in a Jewish neighborhood in Brooklyn in 1948. It was also fun to talk to the kids about who their heroes are and what it would feel like to be friends with them.

This book is great for elementary students, especially sports fans.

I finished reading this to the students today. When I asked if they liked the book, 15 out of the 18 said yes. Their favorite part overall was the magic tricks. They liked when Mike performed the tricks, but they also liked that the book contained instructions for them to learn the tricks too. Next week we are having a magic show, discussing the book, making flyers to help promote the book, and picking our next read.

This book is part of a series of books revolving around Mike. He is a smart kid but has difficulty focusing and thinks he isn't good at anything. Then he discovers the White Rabbit and its proprietor, Mr. Zerlin. Mike finds out that he is good at something after all, magic.

This book is sure to be a winner with young readers. Many kids love magic and learning magic tricks. Also, many kids will see shades of themselves in this book. Kids often get distracted or have difficulty focusing, and this book allows them to see that it happens to other kids too. It doesn't make them stupid, they just need to find their own kind of magic.