A Nation's Hope: The Story of Boxing Legend Joe Louis

A Nation's Hope begins at the end - at the historic rematch between Joe Louis and Max Schmeling, the German boxer, the only man ever to have put Joe Louis on his back.

Matt de la Peña's words have a poetic quality,

"The world waits for Joe Louis to take the ring,
take center stage
White men wait standing beside black men,
but standing apart
Jim Crow America."

Kadir Nelson's artwork is a stunning complement. In realistic style, the story begins with a two-page spread of Yankee Stadium in 1938. The text is in simple black font, mixing in with the darkening sky. The crowd awaits entrance to the stadium in the gathering dusk, a sliver of daylight low on the horizon. One side of Yankee Stadium is bathed in a the last bright light of day, the show more other in shadow. Jim Crow America.

As the fighters climb into the ring, Peña flashes back to a young Joe Louis, a powerful boy with large hands and persistent stammer. The reader learns of Louis' determination to box, his rise to the top, his graceful behavior as a competitor, and his stunning defeat at the hands of one Max Schmeling, a favorite of Hitler. Realistic paintings of period photos and newspaper headlines, dark gyms, and sinewy arms with poised gloves take center stage. The text lives within the illustrations, never detracting from them. The faces of Black America wait and hope and pray for their hero. And in the end, when all of America dances for Joe Louis' victory over Schmeling, the page is no longer split between light and dark. The country dances together, in the dark.

This is Matt de la Peña's first picture book. The pairing of de la Peña and Nelson results in pure emotion. I wouldn't be surprised to see this book on many short lists at the end of the year. Highly recommended.
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A Nation’s Hope: the Story of Boxing Legend Joe Louis
Matt de la Pena (2011)
I am a big fan of this book for many different reasons. The first reason being that it is very easy to relate to many different subjects. Not only can students from an english class hear this book and look at different areas of writing and symbolism, but a teacher from a history class would also be able to use this book in his class as well. This non-fiction book about a boxing legend is a great story about WWII as well as the civil right movement. Not only does Joe Louis have the chance to prove himself over a white man, he is also able to show those in his own country that he will defeat his german opponent. At this time in history the germans are trying to show more take over the entirety of Europe and are lead by a extremist leader who is trying to conquer mass genocide against all Jews. At first he was unable to win and did not gain this trust and admiration from his country, but that second time fighting he had much more of a drive. At the end of this fight we see that he wins and the whites and blacks of the United States rejoice together. This not only shows the students a great historical event that took place in our country, but it also shows that even if they do not get along with certain people they can stick together and fight for the common good. Another great feature of this book is the design of the illustrations. I liked how the illustrator chose to add in newspaper clippings as well as other artifacts as they showed how information would be told to communities at that time. For us we would see a notification on our phones but I was easily able to tell the era this book was set in even before reading it and just flipping along with the pictures. show less

In my opinion, this book was long overdue, putting away my bias as a Boxing fan the story of Joe Louis is one that should've been told long ago! The pacing of the plot was amazing as we were given time truly soak in these masterfully illustrations, from a 3rd person point of view. The language is eloquent, so you may not want to give this story to extremely young readers, but the writing flows in a way where I'd be tempted to take a risk on the younger readers comprehending this story. The characters are written just as real as they were not too long ago when this all transpired, a truly spectacular work of nonfiction that I would implore any teacher to use.

This is a great book with beautiful illustrations. I love how it gives a theme of together-ness at a time when blacks and whites were seperated and segregated. This book is short and to the point for children ages 7 and up. My favorite part of this book is the illustrations. The illustrations take up the whole page and there is not empty areas; it's almost as if they were camera shots. Overall, this is a beautifully illustrated book with very good theme/message.

A Nation's Hope: The story of boxing legend Joe Louis by Matt de la Pena, illustrated by Kadir Nelson
The Text: Beginning with Joe Louis' historic fight against Max Schmeling, Matt de la Pena traces Louis' rise from tongue-tied boy to a growing hero of the boxing ring. After his defeat by Max Schmeling, Joe Louis fights his way back and unites Harlem - and all of America - by defeating the representative of Nazi Germany. Louis' life is shown in brief free verse poetry, each section packing a heavy emotional punch.

The Illustrations: Kadir Nelson's illustrations are rich with life and color, showing close-ups of Joe's defeat and courage as he rises again. Every character is individual, with memorable facial features and a vivid rainbow of show more skin colors.

The Extras: No additional information included.

The Verdict: Beautiful and poetic, but the audience will be limited. I might be able to get some kids interested in Joe Louis, but not in a picture book/poetry story of his life. A larger library might purchase this, but I have to watch my budget more carefully.

ISBN: 978-0803731677; Published January 2011 by Dial; Borrowed from the library show less

6. This was a fantastic take on the life and boxing career of Joe Louis. I really enjoyed the narrative format. The text, using few words, was poetic and powerful.
7. Curricular connections to this book could be with African American studies. This book did a great job of pointing out how Joe Louis provided hope to both African Americans and all other Americans during the World War II era.

An inspiring story about boxing that's much more than a story about boxing. Kadir Nelson's illustrations are magnificent, as per usual. The illustrations and text work together to create something bigger than either one alone. And yet, there is ABSOLUTELY NO BACK MATTER (bibliography, source note, author's note, illustrator's note, timeline, information about the impending war, information about racial tensions of this time, etc.). And I find that completely unacceptable and it irreparably mars the book for me.

http://www.abbythelibrarian.com/2011/04/nations-hope-story-of-joe-louis.html