We Are The Ship

Bibliography:
Nelson,Kadir. 2008. We Are The  Ship. Hyperion Books CH; 1 edition.
ISBN-10: 0786808322

Plot Summary:
 We are the ship is a story about the trials and tribulations of African-American baseball players at the turn of the 20th century.Kadir Nelson tells the story of baseball's great heroes. It details the history of racial discrimination and hardships endured by the baseball players and how social and political ideals influenced the perception of African-American baseball players. The story shows in short the daily hatred, low pay and the daily miserable plight the players faced just to do something they truly loved to do which was play baseball.Nelson uses a narrator "Everyman" to unveil his story stemming from the 1920's to the late 1940's.The book reads like a picture book but it has the perfect blend for a short chapter book.

Crtical Analysis:
This story shows the pride and the brotherhood shared by the men in the Negro Leagues.The book's beautiful artwork by Nelson enhances the story as you can read the emotional expressions  on the players faces and the breathtaking colorful artwork help to  empathize how they felt with each passing moment as they travel from city to city with constant mistreatment and racist comments.Each page is a wonderful piece of art history told from the perpective of the players and the creative mind of Nelson who is the author and illustrator. The strength of the men in their adverisity is a wonderful inspiration to all.


Review:

 From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Grade 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.

Winner of the 2009 Coretta  Scott  King Author Award

Winner of the 2009 Sibert Medal

 

Connections:
This information book could be used to teach lessons about the history of sports or a lesson about segregation.
  The story could be used as an example of writing that has a strong voice and could be a model for students to create their own writing voices and narrators