HENRY AARON'S DREAM

HENRY AARON'S DREAM, by Matt Tavares (Candlewick 2010)(ages 8-10). Young Henry Aaron had always dreamt of becoming a major league baseball player. So he dedicated himself to that task, practicing at every opportunity. It still seemed impossible, in the 1940s, in segregated Alabama. But, then, Jackie Robinson burst onto the scene and Henry's dream seemed just a little more real.

So he worked even harder, playing first in the Negro League and then in the minors, until in 1954, he earned a position with the Milwaukee Braves. And, then, twenty years later, he broke Babe Ruth's home run record...

HENRY AARON'S DREAM is an uplifting and heartwarming account of how, through perseverance and ignoring the nay-sayers, Hank Aaron made it to the Major Leagues to become baseball's home run king.

Personal Note: I remember how excited my brother and I were when my mom took us to see the Braves play the Cubs at Wrigley Field that summer, and especially the ovation Hank Aaron received when he came up to bat. It was the first time I'd ever seen the fans stand up en masse and applaud a player on another team.