The Undefeated

Kwame Alexander is a creative force of nature, an award-winning author of poetry and children’s fiction, such as Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets, Becoming Muhammad Ali, co-authored with James Patterson, and The Crossover, soon to be a Disney+ television series. In The Undefeated, Alexander displays masterful lyrical language skills, and by telling us what we are not, shows us what we are: resilient, strong, and brave. Read this book to Black children and bask in the love.

So gorgeous! The wonderful poetry and masterful images will surely open up a discussion about the many African Americans portrayed in the masterful illustrations. There is an afterward at the end that gives a little bit of information about the figures portrayed which, I hope will lead you and your kids to investigate your favorites further. Also, Kadir Nelson is one of my favorite illustrators of all time!

It’s a poetry picture book, but it works for basically any school-aged child - even high school - because of how the author writes about Black life, struggles, and triumphs over time. Every time we read this book as a family, we learn something new - either about a point in time in history, about an important person, or about how we can think about our world and our communities differently. Plus, we love the author Kwame Alexander!