Looking for Newbery - Day 9

I was a busy beaver today, doing many, many errands, so I'm bringing a book back from our archives today since I didn't get an opportunity to read another Newbery possibility from the mock Newbery lists.

When We Are the Ship by Kadir Nelson came out, I read it, and fell in love with it, and wasn't shy about saying so. I'm not sure into what category We Are the Ship fits, but it is beautifully illustrated and beautifully written. We Are the Ship is truly a creative piece of art. And according to Fuse #8's mock Newbery roundup, it seems that four mock Newbery lists would agree with me!

Negro League Baseball

We have a malfunctioning home computer at the moment, and I'm only able to get on about once a week. Anyway, last night as I was catching up on my emails, I found a delightful surprise. Back in June, a Katy Widrick had left a comment on my post about We Are the Ship by Kadir Nelson.

Katy was sharing a video link with me that I am now passing on to others. As I watched the clip, I got a little teary. Her comments explain it so well, that I'm just copying them in below.

"My company does video news stories on great people with awesome attitudes -- they don't get much better than some of the Negro League players who broke barriers in baseball!

You can see a video we did at MLB's recent symbolic draft of Negro League players, which includes Millito Navarro, Peanut Johnson, Charley Pride and Bill Blair as well as Ken Griffey and Dave Winfield.

I hope you enjoy it!"

Here is Katy's link to the video: http://growingbolder.com/media/Sports/Baseball/Righting-a-Wrong-155775.html

With all the press and attention I'm sure Kadir Nelson will get around awards time, this would be a great clip to share with kids. I think it could lead to some wonderful conversations. It's definitely worth the seven minutes or so it takes to watch!!! Enjoy!

For more Nonfiction Monday posts, go to Picture Book of the Day.

We Are the Ship Meets Sports Illustrated

I probably should save this for Nonfiction Monday, but I just had to share this now...
My husband's weekly Sports Illustrated magazine arrived at our house this past Thursday. I've got to admit, I love seeing who or what is on the cover each week, and then I especially used to love turning to the last page to read what Rick Reilly had to comment on for that week (sadly, he no longer writes for SI, but old habits are hard to break).

Anyway, as I glanced at the front cover, I saw a small inset box with a picture that was very familiar. It was titled Pride of the Game, and below the oh-so familiar picture, I saw Kadir Nelson's name. What??!! It's true! Sports Illustrated this week has jumped on the kidlit bandwagon, and Phil Taylor has written a wonderful article highlighting Nelson's book, We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball. He includes quotes from Kadir Nelson, and emphasizes the importance of Negro league baseball history in his article. Taylor's review of the book, and his description of Nelson's powerful pictures are well worth the read (especially if you're snowed in and have nothing else to do, as we are here).

In the article, SI also included many of the fabulous pictures found in Nelson's book.

Take a peek! It's worth it!