Just Like Josh Gibson

by Angela Johnson

Paperback, 2007

Status

Available

Call number

426

Genres

Children's Books

Collection

Your library

Publication

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (2007), Paperback, 32 pages

Description

A young girl's grandmother tells her of her love for baseball and the day they let her play in the game even though she was a girl.

Media reviews

Personal Review

Angela Johnson's picture book depicts the tale of a little girl who was born to play baseball, but isn't allowed to because girls in the forties don't play baseball. The story is told from the point of view of a granddaughter telling a story about her grandmother. The pictures are large and

textured like brush strokes.

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User reviews

LibraryThing member marciaskidslit

This story compares gender and race. The girl is not allowed to play baseball because of her gender, just like Josh Gibson was not allowed to play baseball because of his race. The use of the color pink in the girl's clothes extends the meaning of gender. The front and back covers express the theme

of the story. The front cover shows the girl and a shadow of Josh Gibson behind and to her right. The girl is in the same batting stance as Josh Gibson. The back cover has a photo of a girl posing front row center with the boy's baseball team, wearing her pink dress and Sunday shoes. The photo depicts her dream to play baseball with the boys. A biography of Josh Gibson concludes the book.

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LibraryThing member umsoechildlit

This is a story from the point of view of a little girl. The entire story is the little girl retelling a story of her grandmother's. The story she tells is about the grandmother playing baseball as a young girl and the adversity she had to overcome in the forties as a female in an all male sport.

The story is centered around the young girl's admiration for an African American baseball player named Josh Gibson. On the last page, there is a short biography of Joshua Gibson included. There is a definite plot in this story with a beginning, middle, and end. However, the story is not very captivating because there is nothing that is extremely exciting wth in the plot. The pictures show what life was like in the forties. They accurately display the clothing and styles of the forties. The illustrations are very colorful and take up the entire page. The text is moved around on many of the pages and embedded within the pictures. However, it is always in one of the corners of the page. The pictures are not too complex but still show some emotion and movement.

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LibraryThing member sunnyd77

THIS BOOK IS GREAT BECAUSE ITS NOT LIMITED TO TALKING ONLY ABOUT A BOY THAT WAS SO INTERESTED IN PLAYING BASEBALL. THE STORY LINE REVOLVED A YOUNG GIRL WHO LOVED THE GAME AND WAS VERY GOOD AT IT. AND IN THE END, ALTHOUGH IT WAS ONLY A GUYS SPORT BACK THEN, THEY PROVED TO REALLY NEED HER ONE DAY!

LibraryThing member ebruno

A grandmother tells her childhood story of how back in the fourties, girls were not allowed to play in baseball games. But when one member on the team got hurt, she was finally able to play in a baseball game hitting the ball so hard just like Josh Gibson.

LibraryThing member TaylorOgne

This book is about a little girl who is inspired by the famous baseball player Josh Gibson. This little girl shoots for her dreams in trying to become a great baseball player.I love this story because it inspires young kids to chase there dreams. I think this would be a great story to read to any

elementary aged student.

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LibraryThing member Tammie14

I liked this book because of the plot, illustrations, and the way it pushes readers to think. We have all heard stories from our elders about how times were when they were kids. That is exactly how this story was organized; a grandmother relaying a story to her granddaughter. I loved how the story

began with, “The story goes…”. This reminded me of how my own grandmother would have begun a story. The illustrations added to the story as being from a different era with the use of washed out colors.

The big message of the story was that you should reach for your dreams and not let anyone tell you that you’re not capable of achieving those dreams.

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LibraryThing member KiTiraShorter

“Just Like Josh Gibson” is an inspirational book about how girls can do anything boys can sometimes even better then the boys. This book pulled me in with the illustrations and the character’s personal plot. The main character was a girl who loved baseball and played when she could but was

very patent as to not play. She eventually gets to play in a big game. I feel her journey of patience is what drew me in to the book. Not once does she get upset about not being able to play and I feel like that humbleness was perfect. As a reader though it did cause me to wonder when and if she would ever be able to play with the boys. I also enjoyed the illustrations because they were done in darker colors, which seemed to allow the writing to brighten them up. I also liked that the dark colors were used because it allowed for the reader to feel as if it was more natural.

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LibraryThing member hjaksha

This story is about a childhood story of a grandmother. She loved to play baseball and aspired to play like Josh Gibson, but back then girls weren't supposed to play baseball. The grandmother would play with her cousin's team if they were just practicing until her cousin was injured. The

grandmother then was aloud to play an actual game with the team and hit a home run.
Ages: 5-7
Source: Teaching Strategies Gold Boxed Curriculum

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