The Cleveland Indians Baseball team is what Homer lives for. He loves everything baseball but unfortunately because of the color of his skin he was banned from Little League. Homer doesn't let that get him down because he has Doby on his side. Doby is a black baseball player that plays for the Indians. Doby is a symbol of equality. He plays and it shows people that black people are just as good as white people. Homer and his dad listen to the baseball game and the Indians win. Then the next day in the paper they see a picture of Doby and Gromek, a black man and a white man cheek to cheek, they won the game for the Indians because they worked together. This is important because it made the statement that black and white people could get a long and work together. I really like this book because of that last picture of Doby and Gromek cheek to cheek because I feel like they wern't even trying to make a statment they just loved baseball and were happy to work together and win it together. That message goes a long way even today, we all need to work together to be happy and achieve success and it does not matter what we look like. ( )

This inspirational book is about the change you wish to see in the world. A young boy looks up to Larry Doby, an African American baseball player who plays for the Indians. Listening to the radio, the young boy and father are cheering the Indians on, hoping for a win. Once the last out in the game happens, they realize that change isn’t coming, it is here already. ( )

Just as Good by Chris Crowe takes place in 1947. when black people and white people were still separated. This story begins by a little black boy named Homer being told that he cannot play baseball because everyone else is white. Homer loves baseball, especially the Cleveland Indians because Larry Doby plays for them, and Larry Doby is black. When Homer's Daddy brings home their first ever radio, they get to listen to the World Series game at home instead of at the drug store. This signifies that not everyone could afford to go to the games or even could afford to buy radios. In the story, the Indians win and the next day the newspaper shows a picture of Larry Doby and Steve Gromek hugging and smiling with each other. This picture really shows that there is change coming between blacks and whitest. Daddy says, "Change ain't a -comin', Homer. It's already here." ( )

This is a heart-warming read about civil rights change in America. This story can teach children that one should not be judged by the color of his or her skin. We are all human and should love one another all the same. We are all capable of greatness and success. The setting of this book stays true to 1940's America. A little African American boy named Homer finds hope in African American baseball star Larry Doby in the 1940's. Homer listens to an Indian's baseball game with his family. During the game, his family roots for Larry Doby to take part in winning the game. Larry scores a home-run, and the Indians win. This instills hope for change in the family's heart. The story ends by describing a newspaper photo of Larry Doby hugging Steve Gromeck, Larry's white teammate and friend. ( )

This book is set in the year 1947, when the world was making its way towards integration. Homer, an African American child, feels like his people are not represented in the baseball world. When Larry Doby shows up to play for the Indians, Homer is excited that someone of his skin color wins the World Series, and makes baseball history. This book kept me on the edge of my seat. The author hooked me in the moment a coach told Homer that black people don't play in the major leagues. I feel as if the author did that on purpose because throughout the rest of the story, I was rooting for Doby just so Homer could prove him wrong. I felt the excitement turning each page, as I intently read call by call for the World Series. The illustrator accurately depicted the emotion on the characters faces throughout the book. This book shares a bigger picture of inclusion, and the importance that no matter what color your skin is, you can succeed at anything.

The setting affected the story in a significant way because it was set in the time where segregation was still prominent. If the author would have set the time period up different, the reader wouldn't have had the same feelings about how amazing it was that an African American was able to play for the Indians ( )