We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball by Kadir Nelson, Kadir Nelson (Illustrator)

The Barnes & Noble Review

When Rube Foster founded the Negro National League in 1920, he told his colleagues, "We are the ship; all else the sea." You'll want to jump on that boat if Kadir Nelson is at the helm. He has illustrated award winners such as Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led the People to Freedom and Ellington Was Not a Street, but this is his first time out as both the illustrator and writer, and he proves to be a serious double threat. He tells the story of the rise and fall of baseball's Negro Leagues through the eyes of an everyday ballplayer who just happens to be witnessing history. The text has a casual naturalness that makes you feel like you're sharing a bag of peanuts with a former player while he spills his old stories. Nelson breaks the book into nine innings, each covering a topic relevant to the Negro Leagues, such as the owners, the barnstorming games against top-flight white teams, and the process that culminated with Jackie Robinson becoming the first black man to play in the majors in the modern era. Each section is packed with personalities and endless facts: Satchel Paige's pitching habits; sleeping arrangements on the road; the methods of paying the players; the way the heat came up through the soles of the players' shoes in Latin America. Each painting is gorgeous and detailed: the ads on the outfield fences pop, the action feels alive. Supposedly a book for kids, We Are the Ship is a must-read for all baseball fans. It is, by turns, heartbreaking, inspiring, comforting, unifying, and, ultimately, extremely satisfying. --Mark J. Miller

From Barnes & Noble

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.

From the Publisher

"We are the ship; all else the sea."-Rube Foster, founder of the Negro National League

 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 the one thing they loved more than anything else in the world: play ball.  
 
Using an "Everyman" player as his narrator, Kadir Nelson tells the story of Negro League baseball from its beginnings in the 1920s through its decline after Jackie Robinson crossed over to the majors in 1947.  The voice is so authentic, you will feel as if you are sitting on dusty bleachers listening intently to the memories of a man who has known the great ballplayers of that time and shared their experiences.  But what makes this book so outstanding are the dozens of full-page and double-page oil paintings-breathtaking in their perspectives, rich in emotion, and created with understanding and affection for these lost heroes of our national game.

We Are the Ship is a tour de force for baseball lovers of all ages.

The New York Times - Kevin Baker

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 Washington Post - Karen MacPherson

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.

Publishers Weekly

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.)

Children's Literature

Nelson's magnificent paintings of the Negro League baseball players remind me of the saying, "Heroes are larger than life." The perspective he employs gives these men the stature they deserve. Each turn of the page provides a visual treat for the reader, whether it is a portrait of a player, or an action shot such as that of Jackie Robinson stealing home. A ticket to the "First Colored World Series" on October 11, 1924, opens as a gatefold, showing the players lined up on the field with their names listed below. The "collective we" of the first person text makes the reader feel as if an old-time ballplayer were speaking directly to him. Nelson begins with the establishment of Negro League Baseball and follows it to the end, entitling his chapters "1st Inning" through "9th Inning." Each chapter presents players, teams, locations, owners, discrimination faced by the teams, and how the Negro League players' style of play changed the game of baseball. The last chapter, "Extra Innings," explains why the Negro Leagues ended, and its importance in baseball and American history. There is a great deal of information in the back matter, such as the names of the Negro Leaguers who made it into the Major Leagues and those who are in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. An index, a bibliography, and source notes are also included. In his author's note, Nelson says, "this eight-year journey from the book's beginning to completion has been a rewarding experience." Likewise for those who read—and reread—this book. Reviewer: Sharon Salluzzo

VOYA

AGERANGE: Ages 11 to 18.

Gorgeous, larger-than-life oil paintings and a Negro League composite narrator, who reflects on the players' second-class-citizen lives filled with wit, melancholy, and determination, bring a historic battle against prejudice to life. Nine chapters ("innings") with a forward by Hank Aaron, explain baseball's beginnings and eventual unspoken segregation, the Negro League's founding, its struggling life, and the final success that destroys them. Player, manager, and owner stories, the best part of the narrative, include anecdotes about Rube Foster's genius; the knife-wielding umpire, Bullet Rogan; owner/racketeer Gus Greenlee, who reorganized the Negro National League after Foster's demise; the powerful Josh Gibson and George "Mule" Suttles; the legendary and flashy Satchel Paige; and Jackie Robinson, the athlete/diplomat who makes people acknowledge the skill and power of black players and consequently fulfills the original mission of the Negro Leagues. The powerful pictures bring the players right off the pages, including a six-panel fold out of the "First Colored World Series" teams, and will pull readers of all ages back to the book repeatedly. As recreational nonfiction for the very young or nonreader and a motivating start for the advanced reader wanting to learn more, the book is a captivating centerpiece for multiple age and culture displays. Although it provides accessible background for fiction such as Nancy L. M. Russell's So Long, Jackie Robinson (Key Porter Books, 2007/VOYA December 2007) and The Journal of Biddy Owens by Walter Dean Myers (Scholastic, 2001/VOYA August 2001), it will draw attention from more than baseball fans. Reviewer: Lucy Schall
April 2008 (Vol. 31, No. 1)

School Library Journal

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

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