The Undefeated

"Past and present are quilted together in this innovative overview of black Americans’ triumphs and challenges in the United States.

Alexander’s poetry possesses a straightforward, sophisticated, steady rhythm that, paired with Nelson’s detail-oriented oil paintings, carries readers through generations chronicling “the unforgettable,” “the undeniable,” “the unflappable,” and “the righteous marching ones,” alongside “the unspeakable” events that shape the history of black Americans. The illustrator layers images of black creators, martyrs, athletes, and neighbors onto blank white pages, patterns pages with the bodies of slaves stolen and traded, and extends a memorial to victims of police brutality like Sandra show more Bland and Michael Brown past the very edges of a double-page spread. Each movement of Alexander’s poem is a tribute to the ingenuity and resilience of black people in the U.S., with textual references to the writings of Gwendolyn Brooks, Martin Luther King Jr., Langston Hughes, and Malcolm X dotting stanzas in explicit recognition and grateful admiration. The book ends with a glossary of the figures acknowledged in the book and an afterword by the author that imprints the refrain “Black. Lives. Matter” into the collective soul of readers, encouraging them, like the cranes present throughout the book, to “keep rising.”

An incredible connector text for young readers eager to graduate to weighty conversations about our yesterday, our now, and our tomorrow. (Picture book/poetry. 6-12)" A Kirkus Starred Review, www.kirkusreviews.com show less

The illustrations are incredible. The poem is indelible. The two together are a masterpiece. I cried when I reached The Unspeakable. I kept crying through to the end. Because, you see. Black Lives Matter. Period. As long as this nation does not accept Blacks as full citizens with All rights unrestricted... All opportunities, none denied... We cannot be great. Until the only response to the phrase "Black Lives Matter" is a resounding "well of course." From everyone without hesitation. And it's an older white lady saying this. Just in case you are confused.

Thank you, Mr. Alexander. Thank you, Mr. Nelson. You both are magical.

It’s hard to surpass the amount of talent that is represented by this combination of author (Kwame Alexander) and illustrator (Kadir Nelson). Together they have created a wonderful paean to African American heroes and heroines.

The magnficent oils by Nelson are mesmerizing by themselves, but the free verse by poet Alexander is stirring and inspirational.

It begins:

“This is for the unforgettable.
The swift and sweet ones
Who hurdled history
And opened a world
Of possible."

"The ones who survived
America
by any means necessary.
And the ones who didn’t.”

The poem, couched as a dedication, continues to pay tribute to people of color and the roles they played in American history. The final spread shows the faces of young black girls and boys show more with the words, “This is for us.”

It’s difficult to resist quoting the whole book - the poem is that good. In an Afterword, Alexander writes that he began this poem in 2008, the year his second daughter was born and Barack Obama became the first African American president. He says: “This poem was my tribute to both.” He notes that he wanted his daughters “to know how we got to this historic moment, or as the famous Mahalia Jackson spiritual says, ‘You know my soul look back and wonder / How did I make it over.’”

He also wanted his daughters, “all of you,” and even himself to be reminded:

“… never, ever give up, because, as Maya Angelou wrote, ‘We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated.”

Following the Afterword there is a delineation of “Historical Figures and Events Featured in The Undefeated.”

Kadir Nelson offsets his outstanding paintings of notable African Americans on blank white pages, putting them in startling relief. The strength conveyed in his realistic oils are a fitting complement to the gravity and dignity conveyed in the book.

Evaluation: Both the poetry and the illustrations are magnificent. This is a must read, not only for Black History Month, but for any month. show less

"Past and present are quilted together in this innovative overview of black Americans’ triumphs and challenges in the United States.

Alexander’s poetry possesses a straightforward, sophisticated, steady rhythm that, paired with Nelson’s detail-oriented oil paintings, carries readers through generations chronicling “the unforgettable,” “the undeniable,” “the unflappable,” and “the righteous marching ones,” alongside “the unspeakable” events that shape the history of black Americans. The illustrator layers images of black creators, martyrs, athletes, and neighbors onto blank white pages, patterns pages with the bodies of slaves stolen and traded, and extends a memorial to victims of police brutality like Sandra show more Bland and Michael Brown past the very edges of a double-page spread. Each movement of Alexander’s poem is a tribute to the ingenuity and resilience of black people in the U.S., with textual references to the writings of Gwendolyn Brooks, Martin Luther King Jr., Langston Hughes, and Malcolm X dotting stanzas in explicit recognition and grateful admiration. The book ends with a glossary of the figures acknowledged in the book and an afterword by the author that imprints the refrain “Black. Lives. Matter” into the collective soul of readers, encouraging them, like the cranes present throughout the book, to “keep rising.”

An incredible connector text for young readers eager to graduate to weighty conversations about our yesterday, our now, and our tomorrow. (Picture book/poetry. 6-12)" A Kirkus Starred Review, www.kirkusreviews.com show less

This is an illustrated version of a beautiful poem by Kwame Alexander. The poem itself is a powerful interpretation of the Black experience in America. The illustrations are stunningly realistic, as is always the case with Kadir Nelson's exceptional art.

Back matter goes into much more detail about the history of the people seen in the illustrations and the meaning behind the poetic words, running the gamut from tragedies such as slavery and unarmed Black people murdered by the police to victories like sports achievements and famous artists. I learned quite a bit from this portion of the book, especially because my sports history knowledge is rather weak.

This a thoroughly engaging, educating, upsetting, engrossing, saddening, and show more uplifting piece of art. Every child and parent in America should be reading it together and discussing ways things have gotten better, ways things *need* to get better, and what they can do to help move progress along. show less

This book is a beautiful poem written by Kwame Alexanader and is paired with stunning oil painting illustrations by Kadir Nelson. Both work together to create an experience that is both heart-wrenching and empowering. Alexander uses italicized lines in his poem to denote places where words are taken from songs or poems written by other Black authors. He uses impactful and memorable poetry techniques, such as repetition, alliteration, and a focus on the prefix "un." This book is captivating and shows how Black people in America have experienced and continue to experience suffering and tragedy at the hands of others and still continue to dream, make art, and contribute to society.
The afterword contains biographical information about the show more Black historical figures and events referenced in the poem and illustrations. show less

Celebrated poet and author Kwame Alexander, whose children's novel in verse, The Crossover, was awarded the Newbery Medal in 2015, presents a "love letter to black America" in this new picture-book, published as part of his new "Versify" imprint with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. His poem, which highlights many heroic and noteworthy people of African-American descent - people from many different professions, who lived in different times - is an ode to "the dreamers and doers" that have left the community undefeated, despite the many injustices they have endured, and challenges they have faced. Alexander's simple words are paired with illustrator Kadir Nelson's gorgeous illustrations, while an extensive afterword profiles all of the people show more depicted in the artwork.

Although quite aware of Kwame Alexander's work, The Undefeated is the first of his books I have picked up. Kadir Nelson, on the other hand, is someone whose beautiful illustrations I have experienced many times. Given Alexander's reputation, and my love of everything Nelson does, I was surprised to find that, despite the worthy aim of the book, and my great appreciation for the visuals, I was mostly unmoved by the poem itself. I appreciate the message, and certainly agree that there are many outstanding people in African-American history, people who have broken barriers of all kinds and confronted injustices great and small, but the text here just didn't speak to me. It felt almost like a list of statements, strung together. The reader's reaction to poetry is tricky of course, and highly idiosyncratic, so what I found pedestrian (despite the poignant topic), others might find very powerful. My favorite part of the book, textually speaking, was the detailed afterword, which gave information about all of the many people depicted in Kadir Nelson's artwork. That said, I did wonder a bit at Alexander's contention in his afterword that the subject(s) of his poem had been left out of American history, given the wealth of children's books published, just in the last few years alone, about the general historic themes of the book, and some of the specific people profiled. Of the subjects covered, and the people profiled, probably the only ones that are relatively unknown and/or neglected are the visual artists and painters. Everything else is well-trodden ground.

Despite my lackluster reaction to the text here, I did find The Undefeated a powerful reading experience, due to Kadir Nelson's gorgeous artwork, done in oil paint. Visually beautiful, emotionally expressive, immensely well-designed, the illustrative choices made here were brilliant. The choice to have a blank two-page spread, when mentioning those who did not survive, makes a powerful statement. Sometimes less is more. The final spread, showing today's young African-American children, is particularly beautiful, but all of the illustrations are lovely. This is one I would recommend wholeheartedly to Nelson fans, and, with the proviso that I didn't care for the poem itself, to anyone looking for picture-books which grapple with the African-American experience. show less