"A Nation's Hope: The Story of Boxing Legend Joe Louis"
By Matt De La Pena, illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Dial, $17.99, ages 6-9
This picture book biography connects the history of the young Joe Louis with the political history of the 1930s, beginning with the crowd waiting outside Yankee Stadium in June of 1938 for the rematch of Joe Louis and Germany's Max Schmeling. Before getting to Louis' victory, we travel back to his childhood and see a shy, stammering child. The boxing ring becomes a space that is home to Louis and "the dance of the fight." Matt de la Pena makes the defeat of Schmeling a moment when black and white Americans celebrated together. Kadir Nelson's careful composition and his use of a very focused palette - shades of brown and other colors setting off the browns, like the ruddy brick buildings of Harlem - make each page an amazing experience of color's rich effect upon our viewing.