The Wall Street Journal-20080126-WEEKEND JOURNAL- Picks -- -We Are the Ship-- Books- A new release for children celebrates the era of Negro Leagues Baseball
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WEEKEND JOURNAL; Picks -- 'We Are the Ship': Books; A new release for children celebrates the era of Negro Leagues Baseball
In baseball, a sport that relishes statistics, the phrase "gone but not forgotten" has resonance. It is particularly apt in the case of Kadir Nelson's handsome new children's book "We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball."
Inside, such players as Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson and James "Cool Papa" Bell get a second turn at bat via Mr. Nelson's paintings. The artist, who lives in San Diego, says it took him almost eight years to complete the project. "I got hooked on the subject after hearing [Negro Leagues star] Buck O'Neil share his experiences in Ken Burns's baseball documentary," says Mr. Nelson, 33 years old.
Although Mr. Nelson has illustrated numerous books, this is the first he has written. His publisher, Walt Disney's Jump at the Sun imprint, is printing 100,000 copies, a large number for a debut author. The publisher hopes that sports enthusiasts, art lovers and kids will all be part of the audience for the book. An exhibit of many of the paintings that appear in the book will open Jan. 26 at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Mo.
-- Hank Aaron
"Although I played in the Negro Leagues for a relatively short time, the experience meant a lot to me," Mr. Aaron says in the foreword to the book.
-- Josh Gibson
"Josh hit everything: fastballs, curveballs. Couldn't fool him. Pitchers would just have to pitch and pray," writes Mr. Nelson in the book.
