![]() I have yet to read a Kwame Alexander book that I have not enjoyed and learned from and The Undefeated is no exception. I read the book to myself initially and then found a video on YouTube of Alexander reading the book himself, and I had to listen to it multiple times in order to appreciate his word choice and view the stunning illustrations. In The Undefeated, Kwame Alexander celebrates and highlights black individuals who have triumphed despite the struggles they undoubtedly encountered over the course of their lives. The words and illustrations work in tandem to allude to specific Black heroes throughout history. For example, the page that includes “the swift and sweet ones who hurdled history” includes an illustration of Jesse Owens who broke barriers by winning four gold medals in the 1936 Olympics which came during Hitler’s reign and the idea of the “perfect Aryan race”. The words and illustrations by Kadir Nelson depict Black people in triumph and perseverance, as individuals and as families. The characters are not presented as stereotypes or as tokens, but as the heroes of their own stories. They are presented to the reader as people to aspire to be. Individuals who became heroes to others despite adversity. One of the illustrations that stands out to me the most is a young adult Black man with his hand on the shoulder of a younger Black boy. It is a show of support and strength. The older young man has his hat in his hands as a show of respect and the younger one has a book opened. They are both contemplative and are presented as an embodiment of strength and faith, not as slaves or someone who is being helped along by a white character as is often seen in African American literature. There is also an illustration of a young Black soldier carrying the American flag as the words on the page reflect his courage “on the battlefield to save an imperfect Union.” This is inspirational to me as it acknowledges the fight for a belief in something that matters despite current conditions which ties into the next page seamlessly with the reference to the current social and political movement of “black lives matter”. Despite the positivity and inspiration of the book, Alexander does not gloss over the topic of slavery or other tragedies throughout history. He announces them as “the unspeakable” which is illustrated on a page of Black individuals lying and standing together in rows that allow the reader to infer they are enslaved. There are also pages of “unspeakable” which illustrate others who have lost their lives to racism and injustice. I adore the layers in this book. The ties to Black heroes from the past and present, the references to historical and current events, the hidden allusions such as “the promised land” which references MLK Jr and his I Have a Dream speech and the “We Real Cool one” which alludes to Gwendolyn Brook’s poem of the same name are all amazing. Approximated Reading Level: Although this book could be read by children as young as 6-7 years, I do not think they will be able to understand the connection and layers. There is also a reference to Black Lives Matter. This is a book that could be appreciated at any grade level.
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