(2) K-3 Illustrated by Cannaday Chapman. In 1947, eleven and a half weeks after Jackie Robinson became the first Black player in Major League Baseball, Larry Doby became the second, and the first in the American League. Doby faced the same racism as Robinson. He was shunned by some of his teammates on the Cleveland Indians. He couldn't stay at whites-only hotels, or even enter the main gates of some stadiums. Opposing players spit on him and called him racist names. But he made a place for himself and was named to the All-Star team seven years in a row. Following her subject from an integrated neighborhood in Camden, South Carolina, to high school football, to the Newark Eagles in the Negro Leagues, Vernick (Brothers at Bat, rev. 3/12; The Kid from Diamond Street, rev. 1/16) provides just the right amount of lively text to complement Chapman's (Feed Your Mind, rev. 1/20) beautifully composed illustrations, especially effective in dramatic angles and shifting viewpoints: sliding into third base with a panoramic view of left field and the stands; a handshake with team owner Bill Veeck; and a back-view image (based on a famous photograph, appended) of a hug shared with pitcher Steve Gromek after a World Series win. This is a balanced account of one player's brilliant achievements and the ongoing struggle for racial equality in sports and society. Back matter includes a bibliography and an author's note detailing the many firsts in Doby's career.

Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2022

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Cannaday Chapman. Beloved African American playwright August Wilson, known for his ten-play Pittsburgh Cycle and other dramas, is introduced to young readers in this elegant picture-book biography. Born Frederick August Kittel Jr. in 1945, Wilson was raised by his single mother in the diverse Hill District of Pittsburgh, awash in a rich medley of languages, people, and cultures. Struggling against discrimination and racial violence from a young age (including being called the n-word, spelled out in full in the text), Wilson was sustained by his love of words--from the squiggles on food labels that he sounded out at age four to the powerful voices of Black authors whose work he discovered at the public library. As an adult, Wilson listened intently to the people around him as he found his own way with words through poetry and eventually plays, giving voice to his own and other Black experiences. That power of words is central to this book: Bryant's well-researched and well-crafted text is deftly spun into two acts (childhood and adulthood) of freeform poems. Chapman's clear, intimate, mixed-media art appears throughout the thoughtfully designed pages, further drawing readers into the world of this powerhouse dramatist. The extensive back matter includes an author's note, a biographical timeline, bibliographic notes, and a list of Wilson's plays.

Reviewer: Anastasia M. Collins | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2020