We Are The Ship

Bibliography

Nelson, Kadir. 2008. WE ARE THE SHIP: THE STORY OF NEGRO LEAGUE BASEBALL. New York: Hyperion. ISBN 0786808322.

Plot Summary

In this book, Kadir Nelson explores the history of the Negro Baseball Leagues. With the input of some of the players themselves, he reveals the struggles, injustices, and triumphs of the leagues, and the players. The story is told from the viewpoint of a player looking back on their experiences playing the game. The book begins as they players struggle through the challenges of being discriminated against, and travelling in less than desirable conditions “that cramped bus would get pretty ripe on some of those summer nights” to the end of the Negro leagues after Jackie Robinson made it into the major leagues.

Critical Analysis

Nelson really opens the reader up to the world of the Negro Baseball Leagues in this historical book. The style is really engaging, as the story is told through the mind of a past player looking back on his experience in the early years of Negro baseball. The paintings that accompany the text are remarkable, and help to paint the pictures of the past, and open up this world to the reader. The title We Are the Ship is derived from a memorable quote by the founder of the Negro National League, Rube Foster, “We are the Ship: all else the sea.” This is a truly outstanding work that pulls the reader into the world of baseball.

Review Excerpt

School Library Journal - “A lost piece of American history comes to life in Kadir Nelson's elegant and eloquent history (Hyperion/Jump at the Sun, 2008) of the Negro Leagues and its gifted baseball players.”

Connections

Have students explore the history of baseball and how the game has changed over the years.

Create Biographies of players featured in We Are The Ship, and other memorable players.

Other books about baseball history:

White, G. Edward. CREATING THE NATIONAL PASTIME. ISBN 0691058857
McKissack, P.C., and McKissack, F.L. BLACK DIAMOND: THE STORY OF THE NEGRO BASEBALL LEAGUES. ISBN 059068213X.