Thank You, Jackie Robinson by Barbara Cohen
"Thank You, Jackie Robinson" by Barbara Cohen is a poignant children's story that explores the themes of friendship, loss, and racial tolerance through the eyes of a young Jewish boy named Sammy Greene. The narrative centers on Sammy's deep admiration for the Brooklyn Dodgers and their iconic player, Jackie Robinson, which leads him to form a significant bond with Davy, an aging black cook at his family's inn. Their friendship blossoms over shared baseball experiences, with Davy becoming a father figure to Sammy.
As Davy faces health challenges, Sammy's desire to help him culminates in a heartfelt gesture: obtaining a signed baseball from Jackie Robinson. This gift, however, does not reverse Davy's declining health, and Sammy grapples with grief and the complexities of death following Davy's passing. Ultimately, the story portrays how the memory of friendship and the love for baseball help Sammy navigate his sorrow and foster hope. Cohen’s work resonates with themes of cultural acceptance and the transformative power of human connection, highlighting the experiences of outsiders navigating a diverse world.
Thank You, Jackie Robinson by Barbara Cohen
First published: 1974; illustrated
Subjects: Death, friendship, race and ethnicity, and sports
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Domestic realism
Time of work: 1947-1949
Recommended Ages: 10-13
Locale: Winter Hill, New Jersey; and Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, New York
Principal Characters:
Sammy Greene , a man who recalls his childhood relationship with Davy and their interest in the DodgersDavy , an aging black cook who works at Mrs. Greene’s inn and becomes the young Sammy’s best friendHenrietta , Davy’s daughter, who takes care of himElliot , Davy’s son-in-law, who uses his wit and audacity to help SammyJackie Robinson , the first black man to play major league baseball and Sammy and Davy’s favorite playerMrs. Greene , Sammy’s mother, a widow who supports her family by running an inn
Form and Content
Thank You, Jackie Robinson is a first-person account of a bittersweet relationship between a young Jewish boy and an aging black man. Sammy Greene looks back upon his two-year friendship with Davy and presents it as an important example of the beneficial aspects of racial toleration in personal and social relations.
The story presents Sammy Greene’s recollection of his obsession with his favorite baseball team, the Brooklyn Dodgers, and his favorite player, Jackie Robinson. Whenever his school friends have questions about baseball, they can count on him for answers. His friends’ interest goes no further, however, so Sammy listens to ball games, reads record books, and relives games alone until he meets Davy, the cook who comes to work at his family’s inn. On the basis of their interest in baseball, the two form a close friendship. Davy becomes Sammy’s surrogate father and takes him to games with Henrietta, Davy’s daughter, and Elliot, his son-in-law, at Ebbets Field in New York, as well as in Boston and Pittsburgh.
Davy’s health, however, is not strong, and he suffers a heart attack. Sammy decides to give Davy a baseball signed by the Dodgers, a gift that he believes worthy of their friendship and powerful enough to restore Davy’s health. Sammy gathers enough money to buy a regulation baseball and to travel to Brooklyn. At Ebbets Field, however, he is not able to obtain any signatures, until he sees Jackie Robinson come onto the field and yells to him for his autograph. After listening to Sammy’s story about Davy, Robinson promises to sign a ball used during the game and to have his teammates sign it as well.
On the following day, Sammy asks Henrietta and Elliot to give the ball to Davy, because only immediate family members are allowed to visit him in the hospital. Elliot insists that Sammy give the gift in person, however, and thinks of a way to sneak him into the hospital. Dressed in one of Davy’s white uniforms, Elliot pretends to be a laundryman and brings Sammy, who is hidden in a laundry bag, into Davy’s room. Davy is deeply touched by Sammy’s gift, but the ball does not fulfill Sammy’s hope that Davy will recover.
Upon Davy’s death, Sammy struggles with rituals of death and feelings of loss. He does not want to view Davy’s body, but he overcomes his revulsion. He sees that, in a spiritual sense, Davy is not lying in the coffin; yet, his recognition does not lessen his grief, for it confronts him with unanswerable questions regarding the fate of the soul. In his depression, he wishes that he had never been Davy’s friend. Although he does not want to listen to a baseball game again, he thinks about Jackie Robinson and the Dodgers and turns on the radio. The game draws him out of his depression. Robinson hits a double as if in answer to Sammy’s prayer for him to hit the ball for Davy. In his mind’s eye, Sammy sees Robinson running around the bases. His interest in life returns, and his memory of Davy becomes a valued part of it.
Critical Context
Barbara Cohen was a prolific writer of novels and picture books who found inspiration in Jewish tradition and in her experience as an outsider growing up in a small town during the 1930’s and 1940’s. Her highly successful first book, The Carp in the Bathtub (1972), is based on the celebration of Passover. King of the Seventh Grade (1982) tells of a boy’s decision to accept his identity as a Jew and to celebrate his bar mitzvah. Thank You, Jackie Robinson deals with outsiders in different situations—a Jewish boy participates in the life of a black family and a black baseball star becomes a Brooklyn Dodger in the formerly segregated national pastime.
Other children’s novels that have been influenced by Thank You, Jackie Robinson include Betty Bao Lord’s The Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson (1984) and Alan Lelchuk’s On Home Ground (1987), in which immigrant youngsters from China and Russia, respectively, are assimilated into their new country through their passionate enthusiasm for Jackie Robinson and the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Cohen’s work has been well received, as attested by her numerous awards. Among them is the American Library Association Notable Children’s Books citation for Thank You, Jackie Robinson. Another indication of the popularity of this work is the television version made in 1978 as an ABC afterschool special under the title A Home Run for Love.