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2010 ALA Youth Media Awards
And The Winners Are...
• John Newbery Medal
• Randolph Caldecott Medal
• Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal
• Coretta Scott King Award
• Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement
• Schneider Family Book Award
• Theodor Seuss Geisel Beginning Reader Award
• Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production
Each year the American Library Association (ALA) honors books and media for children and teens. Recognized worldwide for the high quality they represent, ALA awards --- including the Newbery, Caldecott, Sibert and Coretta Scott King Book Awards --- guide parents, educators, librarians and others in selecting the best materials for youth. Selected by committees composed of librarians and other literature and media experts, the awards encourage original and creative work in the field of children’s and young adult literature and media.
The John Newbery Medal honors the author of the year's most outstanding contribution to children's literature. Presented every year since 1922, the Medal is named for 18th-century British bookseller John Newbery. Henrik Van Loon won the first Newbery Medal in 1922 for THE STORY OF MANKIND. Receiving the Newbery Medal virtually guarantees that the winning book will remain in print and on library and bookstore shelves for years to come.
The Randolph Caldecott Medal honors the illustrator of the year's most distinguished American picture book for children. Presented every year since 1938, the medal is named for Randolph Caldecott, a 19th-century English illustrator known for the action, vitality and humor of his picture books. Receiving the Caldecott Medal virtually guarantees that the winning book will remain in print and on library and bookstore shelves for years to come.
The Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal was awarded for the first time in 2001 to Marc Aronson for SIR WALTER RALEIGH AND THE QUEST FOR EL DORADO. It is given to honor the authors, illustrators and/or photographers of the most distinguished informational book published for children in the preceding year. Informational books are defined as those written and illustrated to present, organize and interpret documentable factual material. The award is named in honor of Robert F. Sibert, the long-time President of Bound to Stay Bound Books, Inc. of Jacksonville, Illinois.
The Coretta Scott King Award is given to an African American author and an African American illustrator for an outstandingly inspirational and educational contribution. The books promote understanding and appreciation of the culture of all peoples and their contribution to the realization of the American dream. The Award is further designed to commemorate the life and works of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and to honor Mrs. Coretta Scott King for her courage and determination to continue the work for peace and world brotherhood.
Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement is named in memory of distinguished and beloved children’s author Virginia Hamilton. The award is presented annually and will be presented in even years (i.e. 2010, 2012, 2014…) to an African American author, illustrator or author/illustrator for a body of his or her published books for children and/or young adults who has made a significant and lasting literary contribution.
In alternate years (i.e. 2011, 2013, 2015…), the award will honor a practitioner for substantial contributions through active engagement with youth using award-winning African American literature for children and/or young adults, via implementation of reading and reading-related activities/programs. The recipient may be a public librarian, academic librarian, school librarian (public or private), an educator (pre K-12 or any level therein, or higher education) or youth literature advocate whose vocation, work, volunteer service or ongoing promotion of books with and/or on behalf of youth is significant and sustained.
The Schneider Family Book Award is donated by Dr. Katherine Schneider, and honors an author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences. Three annual awards are presented for the best Teen, Middle School and Children’s Book.
The Theodor Seuss Geisel Award is given annually to the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished American book for beginning readers published in English in the United States during the preceding year. The winner(s), recognized for their literary and artistic achievements that demonstrate creativity and imagination to engage children in reading, receives a bronze medal. Honor Book authors and illustrators receive certificates, which are presented at the ALA Annual Conference. The award was established in 2004 and first presented in 2006. It is named for the world-renowned children’s author, Theodor Geisel, a.k.a. Dr. Seuss.
The Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production is presented to the producer of the best audiobook produced for youth available in English in the United States. The first Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production was given in January 2008. Honor titles may also be selected. The award is jointly administered by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) and the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), divisions of ALA, and is sponsored by Booklist magazine.
2010 Newbery Winner
 WHEN YOU REACH ME
Rebecca Stead
Wendy Lamb Books/Random House
ISBN: 9780385737425
Ages 9-14
208 pages
July 2009
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By sixth grade, Miranda and her best friend, Sal, know how to navigate their New York City neighborhood. They know where it’s safe to go, like the local grocery store, and they know whom to avoid, like the crazy guy on the corner.
But things start to unravel. Sal gets punched by a new kid for what seems like no reason, and he shuts Miranda out of his life. The apartment key that Miranda’s mom keeps hidden for emergencies is stolen. And then Miranda finds a mysterious note scrawled on a tiny slip of paper:
I am coming to save your friend’s life, and my own.
I must ask two favors. First, you must write me a letter.
The notes keep coming, and Miranda slowly realizes that whoever is leaving them knows all about her, including things that have not even happened yet. Each message brings her closer to believing that only she can prevent a tragic death. Until the final note makes her think she’s too late.
2010 Newbery Honors
 CLAUDETTE COLVIN: Twice Toward Justice
Phillip Hoose
Melanie Kroupa Books/Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ISBN: 9780374313227
Ages 13-up
144 pages
January 2009
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On March 2, 1955, an impassioned teenager, fed up with the daily injustices of Jim Crow segregation, refused to give her seat to a white woman on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Instead of being celebrated as Rosa Parks would be just nine months later, 15-year-old Claudette Colvin found herself shunned by her classmates and dismissed by community leaders. Undaunted, a year later she dared to challenge segregation again as a key plaintiff in Browder v. Gayle, the landmark case that struck down the segregation laws of Montgomery and swept away the legal underpinnings of the Jim Crow South.
 THE EVOLUTION OF CALPURNIA TATE
Jacqueline Kelly
Henry Holy Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780805088410
Ages 9-12
352 pages
May 2009
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Calpurnia Virginia Tate is 11 years old in 1899 when she wonders why the yellow grasshoppers in her Texas backyard are so much bigger than the green ones. With a little help from her notoriously cantankerous grandfather, an avid naturalist, she figures out that the green grasshoppers are easier to see against the yellow grass, so they are eaten before they can get any larger. As Callie explores the natural world around her, she develops a close relationship with her grandfather, navigates the dangers of living with six brothers, and comes up against just what it means to be a girl at the turn of the century.
 THE MOSTLY TRUE ADVENTURES OF HOMER P. FIGG
Rodman Philbrick
The Blue Sky Press/Scholastic
ISBN: 9780439668187
Ages 9-12
224 pages
January 2009
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Master storyteller Rodman Philbrick takes readers on a colorful journey as a young orphan named Homer P. Figg sets off to follow his only brother into the thick of the Civil War. Through a series of fascinating events, Homer's older brother has been illegally sold to the Union army. It is up to Homer to find him and save him. Along the way, he encounters many strange but real people of that era who will engage and educate young readers about our nation's past --- in one of the most decisive moments of American history.
 WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON
Grace Lin
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780316114271
Ages 8-12
288 pages
July 2009
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In the valley of Fruitless mountain, a young girl named Minli lives in a ramshackle hut with her parents. In the evenings, her father regales her with old folktales of the Jade Dragon and the Old Man on the Moon, who knows the answers to all of life's questions. Inspired by these stories, Minli sets off on an extraordinary journey to find the Old Man on the Moon to ask him how she can change her family's fortune. She encounters an assorted cast of characters and magical creatures along the way, including a dragon who accompanies her on her quest for the ultimate answer.
2010 Caldecott Winner
 THE LION AND THE MOUSE
illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780316013567
Ages 4-7
40 pages
September 2009
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In award-winning artist Jerry Pinkney's wordless adaptation of one of Aesop's most beloved fables, an unlikely pair learn that no act of kindness is ever wasted. After a ferocious lion spares a cowering mouse that he'd planned to eat, the mouse later comes to his rescue, freeing him from a poacher's trap. With vivid depictions of the landscape of the African Serengeti and expressively-drawn characters, Pinkney makes this a truly special retelling, and his stunning pictures speak volumes.
2010 Caldecott Honors
 ALL THE WORLD
written by Liz Garton Scanlon
illustrated by Marla Frazee
Beach Lane Books/Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 9781416985808
Ages 3-7
40 pages
September 2009
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All the world is here.
It is there.
It is everywhere.
All the world is right where you are.
Now.
Following a circle of family and friends through the course of a day from morning until night, this book affirms the importance of all things great and small in our world, from the tiniest shell on the beach, to warm family connections, to the widest sunset sky.
 RED SINGS FROM TREETOPS: A Year in Colors
written by Joyce Sidman
illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 9780547014944
Ages 5-8
32 pages
April 2009
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In spring, Red sings from tree-tops: cheer-cheer-cheer, each note dropping like a cherry into my ear. With original and spot-on perceptions, Joyce Sidman brings the colors of the seasons to life in a fresh light, combining the senses of sight, sound, smell and taste. Illustrator Pam Zagarenski's interpretations go beyond the concrete, allowing us to not just see color, but feel it.
2010 Robert F. Sibert Winner
 ALMOST ASTRONAUTS: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream
Tanya Lee Stone
Candlewick Press
ISBN: 9780763636111
Ages 10-up
144 pages
February 2009
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What does it take to be an astronaut? Excellence at flying, courage, intelligence, resistance to stress, top physical shape --- any checklist would include these. But when America created NASA in 1958, there was another unspoken rule: you had to be a man. Here is the tale of 13 women who proved that they were not only as tough as the toughest man but also brave enough to challenge the government. They were blocked by prejudice, jealousy, and the scrawled note of one of the most powerful men in Washington. But even though the Mercury 13 women did not make it into space, they did not lose, for their example empowered young women to take their place in the sky, piloting jets and commanding space capsules. ALMOST ASTRONAUTS is the story of 13 true pioneers of the space age.
2010 Robert F. Sibert Honors
CLAUDETTE COLVIN: Twice Toward Justice
Phillip Hoose
Melanie Kroupa Books/Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ISBN: 9780374313227
Ages 13-up
144 pages
January 2009
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On March 2, 1955, an impassioned teenager, fed up with the daily injustices of Jim Crow segregation, refused to give her seat to a white woman on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Instead of being celebrated as Rosa Parks would be just nine months later, 15-year-old Claudette Colvin found herself shunned by her classmates and dismissed by community leaders. Undaunted, a year later she dared to challenge segregation again as a key plaintiff in Browder v. Gayle, the landmark case that struck down the segregation laws of Montgomery and swept away the legal underpinnings of the Jim Crow South.
 THE DAY-GLO BROTHERS: The True Story of Bob and Joe Switzer's Bright Ideas and Brand-New Colors
written by Chris Barton
illustrated by Tony Persiani
Charlesbridge Publishing
ISBN: 9781570916731
Ages 7-10
44 pages
July 2009
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Joe and Bob Switzer were very different brothers. Bob was a studious planner who wanted to grow up to be a doctor. Joe dreamed of making his fortune in show business and loved magic tricks and problem-solving. When an accident left Bob recovering in a darkened basement, the brothers began experimenting with ultraviolet light and fluorescent paints. Together they invented a whole new kind of color, one that glows with an extra-special intensity Day-Glo.
 MOONSHOT: The Flight of Apollo 11
written and illustrated by Brian Floca
Richard Jackson Books/Atheneum
ISBN: 9781416950462
Ages 4-7
48 pages
April 2009
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Simply told, grandly shown, here is the flight of Apollo 11. Here for a new generation of readers and explorers are the steady astronauts, clicking themselves into gloves and helmets, strapping themselves into sideways seats. Here are their great machines in all their detail and monumentality, the ROAR of rockets, and the silence of the Moon. Here is a story of adventure and discovery --- a story of leaving and returning during the summer of 1969, and a story of home, seen whole, from far away.
2010 Coretta Scott King Author Winner
Vaunda Micheaux Nelson, author of BAD NEWS FOR OUTLAWS
 BAD NEWS FOR OUTLAWS: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal
written by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson
illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
Carolrhoda Books
ISBN: 9780822567646
Ages 8-12
40 pages
November 2009
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Sitting tall in the saddle, with a wide-brimmed black hat and twin Colt pistols on his belt, Bass Reeves seemed bigger than life. As a U.S. Marshal --- and former slave who escaped to freedom in the Indian Territories --- Bass was cunning and fearless.
When a lawbreaker heard Bass Reeves had his warrant, he knew it was the end of the trail, because Bass always got his man, dead or alive. He achieved all this in spite of whites who didn't like the notion of a black lawman.
For three decades, Bass was the most feared and respected lawman in the territories. He made more than 3,000 arrests, and though he was a crach shot and a quick draw, he only killed 14 men in the line of duty. BAD NEWS FOR OUTLAWS reveals the story of a remarkable African American hero of the Old West.
2010 Coretta Scott King Author Honor
 MARE’S WAR
Tanita S. Davis
Knopf Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780375857140
Ages 12-up
352 pages
June 2009
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Octavia and Tali are dreading the road trip their parents are forcing them to take with their grandmother over the summer. After all, Mare isn’t your typical grandmother. She drives a red sports car, wears stiletto shoes, flippy wigs and push-up bras, and insists that she’s too young to be called Grandma. But somewhere on the road, Octavia and Tali discover there’s more to Mare than what you see. She was once a willful teenager who escaped her less-than-perfect life in the deep South and lied about her age to join the African American battalion of the Women’s Army Corps during World War II.
Told in alternating chapters, half of which follow Mare through her experiences as a WAC member and half of which follow Mare and her granddaughters on the road in the present day, this novel introduces a larger-than-life character who will stay with readers long after they finish reading.
2010 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Winner
Charles R. Smith Jr., author of MY PEOPLE
 MY PEOPLE
written by Langston Hughes
illustrated by Charles R. Smith Jr.
Ginee Seo Books/Atheneum
ISBN: 9781416935407
Ages 4-8
40 pages
January 2009
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Langston Hughes's spare yet eloquent tribute to his people has been cherished for generations. Now, acclaimed photographer Charles R. Smith Jr. interprets this beloved poem in vivid sepia photographs that capture the glory, the beauty and the soul of being a black American today.
2010 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor
 THE NEGRO SPEAKS OF RIVERS
written by Langston Hughes
illustrated by E.B. Lewis
Jump at the Sun/Disney-Hyperion
ISBN: 9780786818679
Ages 4-8
32 pages
January 2009
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Langston Hughes has long been acknowledged as the voice, and his poem, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” the song, of the Harlem Renaissance. Although he was only 17 when he composed it, Hughes already had the insight to capture in words the strength and courage of black people in America.
Artist E.B. Lewis acts as interpreter and visionary, using watercolor to pay tribute to Hughes’s timeless poem, a poem that every child deserves to know.
2010 Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Author Award
Kekla Magoon, author of THE ROCK AND THE RIVER
 THE ROCK AND THE RIVER
Kekla Magoon
Aladdin Books/Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 9781416975823
Ages 9-14
304 pages
January 2009
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For 13-year-old Sam it's not easy being the son of known civil rights activist Roland Childs. Especially when his older (and best friend), Stick, begins to drift away from him for no apparent reason. And then it happens: Sam finds something that changes everything forever.
Sam has always had faith in his father, but when he finds literature about the Black Panthers under Stick's bed, he's not sure who to believe: his father or his best friend. Suddenly, nothing feels certain anymore.
Sam wants to believe that his father is right: You can effect change without using violence. But as time goes on, Sam grows weary of standing by and watching as his friends and family suffer at the hands of racism in their own community. Sam beings to explore the Panthers with Stick, but soon he's involved in something far more serious --- and more dangerous --- than he could have ever predicted. Sam is faced with a difficult decision. Will he follow his father or his brother? His mind or his heart? The rock or the river?
2010 Coretta Scott King–Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement
 Walter Dean Myers is the winner of the first Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement. Myers has redefined the image of African American youth. He has garnered major youth literary awards: five Coretta Scott King Awards, four Coretta Scott King Honor Awards and the first Michael L. Printz Award. He is a two-time Newbery Honor medalist, a two-time National Book Award finalist, a two-time Jane Addams Children’s Book Award winner and a five-time Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor recipient. Myers received the Margaret A. Edwards Award for “lifetime contribution to young adult literature” in 1994, and was named the 2009 May Hill Arbuthnot Lecturer.
Myers’s body of work is chiefly fiction and also includes biography, poetry, history and memoir. The community of Harlem and ongoing dialogues with today’s youth serve as his muse. He writes authentically in the voice of young people. He is best known for creating vivid, unflinching stories that speak candidly of the lives of teens. For four decades, his characters have wrestled with life-changing decisions (SCORPIONS), romance (AMIRI & ODETTE), family relationships (SOMEWHERE IN THE DARKNESS and MOTOWN AND DIDI) and friendships (MOJO AND THE RUSSIANS). While his stories often incorporate humor, music, sports and adventure, they also address challenging themes such as incarceration (MONSTER) and war (FALLEN ANGELS and SUNRISE OVER FALLUJAH).
Myers resides in Jersey City, New Jersey, with his wife Constance and is the father of three adult children. He often collaborates with his son, illustrator Christopher Myers (HARLEM, JAZZ and LOOKING LIKE ME). Myers received his B.A. degree from Empire State College, State University of New York.
2010 Schneider Family Picture Book Winner
 DJANGO
Bonnie Christensen
Flash Point
ISBN: 9781596434226
Ages 5-9
32 pages
September 2009
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Born into a travelling gypsy family, young Django Reinhardt taught himself guitar at an early age. He was soon acclaimed as the "Gypsy Genius" and "Prodigy Boy," but one day his world changed completely when a fire claimed the use of his fretting hand. Folks said Django would never play again, but with passion and perseverance he was soon setting the world's concert stages ablaze.
2010 Schneider Family Middle School Award Winner
 ANYTHING BUT TYPICAL
Nora Raleigh Baskin
Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
ISBN: 9781416963783
Ages 10-14
208 pages
March 2009
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Jason Blake is an autistic 12-year-old living in a neurotypical world. Most days it's just a matter of time before something goes wrong. But Jason finds a glimmer of understanding when he comes across PhoenixBird, who posts stories to the same online site as he does.
Jason can be himself when he writes and he thinks that PhoenixBird --- her name is Rebecca --- could be his first real friend. But as desperate as Jason is to meet her, he's terrified that if they do meet, Rebecca will only see his autism and not who Jason really is.
2010 Schneider Family Teen Award Winner
 MARCELO IN THE REAL WORLD
Francisco X. Stork
Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic
ISBN: 9780545054744
Ages 12-up
320 pages
March 2009
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Marcelo Sandoval hears music no one else can hear --- part of the autism-like impairment no doctor has been able to identify --- and he's always attended a special school where his differences have been protected. But the summer after his junior year, his father demands that Marcelo work in his law firm's mailroom in order to experience "the real world."
There Marcelo meets Jasmine, his beautiful and surprising co-worker, and Wendell, the son of another partner in the firm. He learns about competition and jealousy, anger and desire. But it's a picture he finds in a file -- a picture of a girl with half a face -- that truly connects him with the real world: its suffering, its injustice, and what he can do to fight.
2010 Theodor Seuss Geisel Winner
 BENNY AND PENNY IN THE BIG NO-NO!
written and illustrated by Geoffrey Hayes
TOON Books
ISBN: 9780979923890
Ages 4-8
32 pages
April 2009
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What will Benny and Penny find when they cross the line in THE BIG NO-NO? Benny's favorite pail is missing, and there are mysterious muddy footprints. In this charming whodunit, Benny and his little sister Penny team-up to investigate, braving the dangers of the new neighbor's yard, and finding something unexpected on the other side of the fence.
2010 Theodor Seuss Geisel Honors
 I SPY FLY GUY!
written and illustrated by Tedd Arnold
Cartwheel Books/Scholastic
ISBN: 9780545110280
Ages 4-up
32 pages
October 2009
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When Fly Guy and Buzz play hide-and-seek, Fly Guy hides in his favorite place --- the garbage can. But as Buzz finishes counting, the garbageman drives away with the garbage and Fly Guy, too! A very worried Buzz follows the truck to the dump, where he sees zillions of flies. Where is Fly Guy?!
 LITTLE MOUSE GETS READY
written and illustrated by Jeff Smith
TOON Books
ISBN: 9781935179016
Ages 4-8
32 pages
September 2009
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There is a lot to do before Little Mouse is ready to go visit the barn. Will he master all the intricacies of getting dressed, from snaps and buttons to Velcro and tail holes? Eisner Award-winning cartoonist Jeff Smith (Bone) and his determined Little Mouse reveal all the smallest pleasures of this daily task.
 MOUSE AND MOLE, FINE FEATHERED FRIENDS
written and illustrated by Wong Herbert Yee
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 9780547152226
Ages 4-8
48 pages
August 2009
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It is a blustery spring day, and Mouse and Mole are very excited. They are going to go bird watching! They are planning to make bird books! Mouse and Mole pack paper and crayons and hurry outside. It turns out, birds are not so easy to watch. Splashing in puddles scare them away. Stepping on crunchy leaves does too.
Mole rubs his snout. Mouse twirls her tail. Together, they come up with a plan to get closer to the birds. A plan that includes glue and feathers…
 PEARL AND WAGNER: ONE FUNNY DAY
written by Kate McMullan
illustrated by R. W. Alley
Dial Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780803730854
Ages 5-8
40 pages
March 2009
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In three short and simple chapters, friends Pearl and Wagner experience the hijinks and pranks of April Fools’ Day. Beginning with the cover art, Kate McMullan and R. W. Alley set the stage and draw the reader in immediately. Readers will be delighted as Wagner gets the last laugh!
Back to top.
2010 Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production Winner
 LOUISE, THE ADVENTURES OF A CHICKEN
written by Kate DiCamillo
narrated by Barbara Rosenblat
Live Oak Media
ISBN: 9781430106883
Ages 4-8
June 2009
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She longed for adventure. So she left her home and ventured out into the wide world. The pleasures and perils she met proved plentiful: marauding pirates on the majestic seas, a ferocious lion under the bright lights of the big top, a mysterious stranger in an exotic and bustling bazaar. Yet in the face of such daunting danger, our heroine…
She was brave. She was fearless. She was feathered. She was a chicken. A not-so-chicken chicken. Her name?
2010 Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production Honors
 IN THE BELLY OF THE BLOODHOUND: Being an Account of a Particularly Peculiar Adventure in the Life of Jacky Faber
written by L.A. Meyer
narrated by Katherine Kellgren
Listen & Live Audio, Inc.
ISBN: 9781593161422
Ages 12-up
October 2008
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Now that the King of England has called her a pirate and put a price on her head, Jacky Faber has no choice but to stay out of sight. Hoping for a safe hiding place, she returns to the Lawson Peabody School for Young Girls in Boston, but the calm doesn't last long. On a class field trip to Boston Harbor, the girls are abducted and forced into the hold of the Bloodhound, a ship bound for the slave markets on the Barbary Coast where they will be put up on the auction block and sold into Arab harems. Jacky wouldn't dream of going down without a fight, but the delicate Lawson Peabody girls are in over their heads. Although Jacky will use anything in her arsenal to help her well-heeled classmates, she isn't so certain they will find the strength and courage needed to survive. But if she can convince them to trade petticoats and propriety for her daring escape plan, the girls just might become their own rescuers.
 PEACE, LOCOMOTION
written by Jacqueline Woodson
narrated by Dion Graham
Brilliance Audio
ISBN: 9781423397984
Ages 9-11
July 2009
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Twelve-year-old Lonnie is finally feeling at home with his foster family. But because he’s living apart from his little sister, Lili, he decides it’s his job to be the “rememberer” --- and write down everything that happens while they’re growing up. Lonnie’s musings are bittersweet; he’s happy that he and Lili have new families, but though his new family brings him joy, it also brings new worries. With a foster brother in the army, concepts like Peace have new meaning for Lonnie.
 WE ARE THE SHIP: The Story of Negro League Baseball
written by Kadir Nelson
narrated by Dion Graham
Brilliance Audio
ISBN: 9781423375364
Ages 8-up
January 2009
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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 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.
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