We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball

by Kadir Nelson, Dion Graham (Read by)

Overview

In this New York Times bestselling classic, Caldecott Medal-winning artist Kadir Nelson tells the incredible story of baseball's unsung heroes — perfect for celebrating the centennial anniversary of the Negro Leagues!

Winner of the Coretta Scott King Author Award and Robert F. Siebert Award as well as a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor

Featuring nearly fifty iconic oil paintings and a dramatic double-page fold-out, an award-winning narrative, a gorgeous design and rich backmatter, We Are the Ship is a sumptuous, oversize volume for all ages that no baseball fan should be without. Using an inviting first-person voice, Kadir Nelson shares the engaging story of Negro League baseball from its beginnings in the 1920s through its evolution, until after Jackie Robinson crossed over to the majors in 1947.

The story of Negro League baseball is the story of gifted athletes and determined owners, of racial discrimination and international sportsmanship, of fortunes won and lost; of triumphs and defeats on and off the field. It is a perfect mirror for the social and political history of black America in the first half of the twentieth century. But most of all, the story of the Negro Leagues is about hundreds of unsung heroes who overcame segregation, hatred, terrible conditions, and low pay to do one thing they loved more than anything else in the world: play ball.
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781423375364
Publisher:	Brilliance Audio
Publication date:	01/30/2009
Edition description:	Unabridged
Pages:	2
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.10(h) x 1.40(d)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Kadir Nelson began his professional career as an artist, publishing his work and receiving commissions from publishers and production studios such as Dreamworks, where he served as the lead conceptual artist for Steven Spielberg’s “Amistad” and “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron,” Sports Illustrated, Coca-Cola, The United States Postal Service and Major League Baseball, among others. Presently, almost twenty illustrated books are in print, including Debbie Allen's DANCING IN THE WINGS, Ntozake Shange’s Coretta Scott King Award-winning book, and Carol Boston Weatherford’s MOSES: When Harriet Tubman Led her People to Freedom,” for which Nelson won a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award, a Caldecott Honor and an NAACP Image Award. Most recently, Nelson released his authorial debut, “WE ARE THE SHIP: The Story of Negro League Baseball” (Jump at the Sun/Disney), a New York Times best-seller.

From HBO's The Wire, he also narrates A & E's The First 48. An Audie award-winning and critically acclaimed actor and narrator, he has performed on Broadway, Off-Broadway, internationally, in films, and in several hit television series.

Editorial Reviews

Jackie Robinson first broke major league baseball's color barrier in 1947, but before him, hundreds of talented Negro League players prepared the way. This illustrated children's book tells the story of black baseball through the experiences of an average player. We Are the Ship doesn't present idealized snapshots of these barnstorming pioneers; author/illustrator Kadir Nelson offers vivid images of segregation, prejudice, economic hardship, and exhausting travel conditions. An unforgettable story that we should never forget.

Divided into chapters labeled "innings," Nelson's inspiring book is a riveting read that is sure to be a home run with both kids and adults.
—The Washington Post

Karen MacPherson

The painter Kadir Nelson has illustrated several award-winning children's books, including some on black history. This is the first book he has both illustrated and written, and it's absolutely gorgeous. He uses the conversational, first-person voice of a fictional, anonymous player. It's a device that generally works well and allows him to include many of the great old tales of the Negro Leagues; he conveys the humor, showmanship and joy that were an integral part of the game, without soft-soaping how hard it all was…Nelson's visual narrative is nothing short of magnificent.
—The New York Times

Kevin Baker

In his first outing as author as well as illustrator, Nelson (Ellington Was Not a Street) delivers a history of the Negro Leagues in a sumptuous volume that no baseball fan should be without. Using a folksy vernacular, a fictional player gives an insider account of segregated baseball, explaining the aggressive style of play ("Those fellows would bunt and run you to death. Drove pitchers crazy!") and recalling favorite players. Of Satchel Paige, he says, "Even his slow stuff was fast." As illuminating as the text is, Nelson's muscular paintings serve as the true draw. His larger-than-life players have oversized hands, elongated bodies and near-impossible athleticism. Their lined faces suggest the seriousness with which they took their sport and the circumstances under which they were made to play it. A gatefold depicting the first "Colored World Series" is particularly exquisite-a replica ticket opens from the gutter to reveal the entire line-ups of both teams. And while this large, square book (just a shade smaller than a regulation-size base) succeeds as coffee-table art, it soars as a tribute to the individuals, like the legendary Josh Gibson, who was ultimately elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame without ever playing in the major leagues. As Nelson's narrator says, "We had many Josh Gibsons in the Negro Leagues.... But you never heard about them. It's a shame the world didn't get to see them play." Ages 8-up. (Jan.)

Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information

Publishers Weekly

Gr 3 Up

A lost piece of American history comes to life in Kadir Nelson's elegant and eloquent history (Hyperion/Jump at the Sun, 2008) of the Negro Leagues and its gifted baseball players. The history of the Leagues echoes the social and political struggles of black America during the first half of the 20th century. There were scores of ballplayers who never became as famous as Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb and were almost lost in obscurity because of segregation-and Nelson recreates their history here. The narrative is divided into nine innings, beginning with Rube Foster and his formation of the first Negro League in 1920 and closing with Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier into white major league baseball. In between are fascinating snippets of the events and men who formed the Negro Leagues. Listeners glimpse the pain black Americans endured because of bigotry and segregation, but the true center of this story is the joy of baseball and the joy men felt at being able to play the game. Hall of Famer Hank Aaron, who began playing with the Negro Leagues, provides the foreword. Eloquent narration is performed by actor Dion Graham, and a bluesy guitar introduction and conclusion is reminiscent of the time period. Nelson's stunning oil paintings are included on a CD-but make sure to have the book available as well. Social studies teachers and baseball fans of all ages will covet this delightful winner of the 2009 Coretta Scott King author award and illustrator Honor award.-Tricia Melgaard, Centennial Middle School, Broken Arrow, OK

School Library Journal

"Nelson continues to top himself with each new book...Along with being absolutely riveted by the art, readers will come away with a good picture of the Negro Leaguers' distinctive style of play, as well as an idea of how their excellence challenged the racial attitudes of both their sport and their times."—Kirkus Reviews

"Easygoing, conversational storytelling is exactly what Kadir Nelson achieves in this pitch-perfect history of Negro League Baseball....His grand slam, though, is the art: Nelson's oil paintings have a steely dignity, and his from-the-ground perspectives make the players look larger than life."—The Horn Book

"The stories and artwork contained here are a tribute to the spirit of the Negro Leaguers who created much more than an also-ran and deserve a more prominent place on baseball's history shelves. For students and fans (and those even older than the suggested grade level), this is the book to accomplish just that."—Booklist

"Adopting the perspective and voice of an elderly ballplayer, [Nelson] offers a readable account that is infused with an air of nostalgic oral history....Nelson's brilliant, almost iconic paintings vividly complement his account.... An engaging tribute that should resonate with a wide audience and delight baseball fans of all ages."—School Library Journal

"Through text and artwork that pulses with life, Nelson has created a book that brings personality to the Negro Baseball League... One need not be a baseball fan to enjoy this book, because it's more than a sports story. It's a story of real people enduring more than many of us can imagine, playing a game they love."—Library Media Connection

From the Publisher

"Negro baseball was fast! Flashy! Daring! . . ." Young listeners will agree after hearing this compelling, accessible history of the players who, when they were shut out of major league baseball, loved the game so much that they found a way to keep playing. Dion Graham's enthusiastic, welcoming narration is a perfect match for the text. He helps the cast of characters—Rube Foster, Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, James "Cool Papa" Bell—step right out of history and puts listeners with them in the dugout and on the bus traveling from game to game. A bonus CD includes an interactive slide-show gallery of Kadir Nelson's gorgeous, evocative illustrations so that listeners can put faces to all the names. J.M.D. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

MARCH 2009 - AudioFile