The Negro Leagues: Celebrating Baseball's Unsung Heroes

Reviewed by: Jill O'Connor - Harriet Beecher Stowe Elementary School, Brunswick, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: September 17, 2017

Review

Separated into five short chapters, this nonfiction book is perfect for 4th-7th graders (ages 10-13) who are interested in delving further into a piece of sport history. Many young readers might not realize that baseball was not always an integrated sport and that, as a counter to the period of time in which black players were denied entry into Major League Baseball, the National Negro League was formed. Doeden is a prolific nonfiction writer whose research is meticulous. Using archival photographs and stories from newspapers of the day, all sourced at the end of the book, Doeden provides historical perspective, short biographies of many of the major players of the NNL, and touches upon the legacy of these players in modern-day baseball. An excellent start for the sports fan and burgeoning sports historian. Includes Source Notes, Glossary, Further Reading, and Index.

Overall Book Score: excellent