Caldecott Award Winner - The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander

 Title: The Undefeated

Author/Illustrator: Kwame Alexander/Kadir Nelson
Awards: 2020 Caldecott Medal winner; Golden Kite Award for Picture Book Text
Genre(s): Poetry, Children's literature, Narrative poetry, Children's Non-fiction literature
Age: 6-9 

    The Undefeated conveyed stories of different African Americans through a poem. The illustrations allow us to feel what is being said, and showed the various faces of important figures in the African American community. The words in the book talked about the struggles they went through, but highlighted how they were able to pave the way for someone else, and they continued the journey, and the torch is continuously passed from one generation to the next. The author wrote this poem, because so much of the story has been left out, or forgotten. Many American textbooks provide a false narrative, or only tell part of the story, they only highlight so many of the common figures such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, Jackie Robinson but they leave out so many other influential figures such as Jesse Owens, Muhammad Ali, Langston Hughes, and others who have contributed so much to our society. Kwame Alexander also paid tribute to many lives lost due to police injustice, racial prejudice, and whose voices were never heard, and now had it not been for social media some of their stories would continue to go unnoticed and never be heard. 

    When I read this book, I was reminded of some important figures, who history virtually forgot about, or didn't acknowledge their contributions. After the story is over, the author gives a brief description of who each person was, and where they fit into the story "unforgettable", "undeniable", "unafraid", "unlimited", and many more descriptors. All of these figures shaped history for many African Americans and gave their race a new kind of possibility, one that hadn't been there before, coming from slavery, relying on faith to find any way to get out of the situation, and to lead a better life, and unfortunately some people didn't make it, as there were many lives lost. To now being able to leave a better legacy for their kids, and have hopes and dreams and to be given a chance to go after them, and make them a reality. Through their journey they had to face many struggles and adversity, to reach the vision of freedom, and even to this day there are still some who feel that the minority, should remain just that. African Americans even fought in many different wars, even when this country didn't respect them or treat them with dignity, but they rose above all of that.

   Kadir Nelson matched Kwame Alexander's words beautifully. The illustrations were very realistic, and their was shading, and highlighting that added to these pieces that gave it a lifelike quality. At times in this book there were close-ups and wide shots, sometimes it felt as though you were able to feel the person staring right back at you, but the bigger the picture the bigger the impact they had on society. On one page there is a close-up of Dr. King, Jr., and the word talking about how his Dream inspired many others to become doers and dreamers, and not to be so close-minded. He talked about the influence they've had in many elements of life such as music, sports, politics, and so many who haven't been discovered yet, have something/someone to look up, because representation matters. This book showed the resilience of many African Americans and how they are not going to be defeated or be overshadowed any more. This story is to show them that you have come a long way, but we have more to be done, but the reader can see themselves in this story.

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