Warrior on the Mound
1939 North Carolina. Twelve-year-old Cato Jones is obsessed with baseball. His older brother pitches for the Kansas City Monarchs, and his deceased father was also a pitcher in the Negro League. When Cato’s town’s white ball club gets a new baseball field, he and his team skip school to play a practice game there, despite the “no trespassing” sign. They are caught, and as punishment, Cato has to do chores for the man who built the field, Mr. Luke. Cato’s uncle blames Mr. Luke for the death of Cato’s father, but the young boy doesn’t know why. Tensions between the white ball club and the “colored” ball club escalate, until a game between the two teams is proposed. Can baseball bring harmony to the town, or will the proposed game make things worse? Will Cato discover how his father died?
Author Headen does a great job of bringing this time and place to life. The unfairness of segregation is shown on every page, and the stress of constant danger for the town’s Black residents makes for suspenseful reading. Cato is a dynamic character, his passion and ambition for baseball driving everything he does. He’s bold and brave, trying to make good decisions but sometimes, impulsively and realistically, making bad ones. Readers will cheer for him and his team and learn a lot about history. End notes offer additional information about the National Negro League, its players, and other books on the topic. Ages 8-12.
