We Are The Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball by Kadir Nelson

Bibliographical citation: 

Nelson, K.  (2008).  We Are The Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball.  New York: Jump at the Sun/Hyperion Books for Children. 88 pages.  ISBN: 9780786808328.

Awards: Orbus Pictus Honor (2009), Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal (2009), Caldecott Medal (2009), Coretta Scott King Awards (2009), ALA Notable Children's Books (2009), SLJ Best Books for Children, (2008).

Author's website: http://www.kadirnelson.com/

Annotation: Using dialogue and rich oil paintings, Nelson conveys the struggles of Negro League Baseball and its players' love of the game.  Their contributions to today's game of baseball are sizeable and were accomplished despite subjection to oppression, hatred, and prejudice.

Personal Reaction:  Kadir Nelson writes this story as if he was having a conversation with the reader, thus making it very engaging and easy to read. He outlines the struggles of Negro baseball players and their dedication to play because of their love of the game and describes their perseverance in the face of bigotry.  Nelson takes the time to state each player's name and discusses each of them individually in order to emphasize all of the untapped talent within these men and the lengths that they would go to in order to play baseball. 

One focus of the story is upon Rube Foster's involvement in pushing the Negro leagues to become more organized and professional.  It is his quote that Nelson uses in the title of this book, "We are the ship, all else the sea" (Nelson, p. 9).  The idea of the ship just being one small object in an enormous body of water is a great analogy to what the Negro Leagues had to endure.  Ships must do battle with the sea as they are tossed and turned by the waves and only the strong will survive.  It is Foster's impact and determination that helped to move the leagues forward and get the recognition they deserved.  Beautiful oil painting capture the essence of this narrative, the subjects filled with so much expression that the characters look alive, almost like photographs.  It is also important to comment on the format of the book.  Instead of chapters, the book is cleverly broken down into "Innings."  It contains 9 innings and the last part is called "Extra Innings."

The focus of the 9th inning is on Jackie Robinson and his contributions not only to baseball but to the struggles of African Americans and their rights.  Robinson's success in the sport makes him an important part of this history.  It is fitting to end this story with an emphasis on Jackie Robinson since he is the link from that period of time to current baseball history and what the major leagues are today.  Kadir Nelson has skillfully weaved a piece of art to not only represent this history, but to display the beginning of integration in baseball. This title will definitely appeal to young readers of all interests, and especially to those with a love of baseball.  Can you tell that I really loved this book?

Front/Back Matter: Foreword (by Hank Aaron), List of Negro Leagues who made it to Major Leagues and Baseball Hall of Fame, Author's Note, Acknowledgements, Bibliography, Filmography, Endnotes, Index.

*Bibliographical citation information, award information, as well as image retrieved from www.bwibooks.com (Titletales)