May's Book of the Month--The Undefeated

May’s Book of the Month is THE UNDEFEATED, winner of the 2020 Caldecott Medal, by two highly esteemed artists and winners of many awards, Kwame Alexander and Kadir Nelson.

This homage to black America features a poem Alexander wrote as a tribute to the birth of his daughter and the election of Barack Obama. As he relates in his afterward, "I wanted to establish from the very beginning that much of what I’m talking about in this poem, so much of American history, has been forgotten, left out of the textbooks, and that to truly know who we are as a country, we have to accept and embrace all of our woes and wonders.” The book is a proud and inspiring testament to courage, genius, and perseverance.

Design-wise, Alexander and Nelson, along with the team at Versify, have produced a jaw-dropping look at what can be accomplished in picture bookmaking. THE UNDEFEATED features a large trim size, big type, and plenty of white space which highlights the transcendent text and majestic portraits. Nelson uses oil paints on panels to create his work for this book. Backmatter describes many of the historical figures and events portrayed in the art.

THE UNDEFEATED should be essential reading for all Americans.

--Lynn