Clemente! by Willie Perdomo illus. by Bryan CollierThe boy in the story is named after Clemente. His parents tell him about his namesake. The family lives in The Bronx where Roberto Clemente was rey. His father is president of the greatest fans of Roberto Clemente club.
"He'll take out his baseball card collection
and pull all his mint condition Clementes,
and then he'll start calling Clemente,
I mean really calling him,
like he was try like he was trying to talk
to the ghost of Roberto Clemente."
"Clemente! Clemente!
It's us, tu gente!
Clemente! Clemente!
Prince of the baseball diamante,
Canon-arm Clemente,
Puerto Rican prince Clemente,
Hall of fame Clemente"
Perdomo text is informative, lyrical, visual and fun. Sometimes a little flair is expected when talking about great baseball players or plays. Perdomo gives the reader exactly that.
He also lets the reader see all sides of Clemente - the player, the son who when interviewed after winning the World Series spoke Spanish first for his parents, and the man who tried to help Nicaraqua after an earthquake. The author inculdes a great Roberto Clemente timeline in the back
I love Robert Collier's artistic style. It was a perfect fit for this biography. In his notes Collier mentions the medium he used.
"I created the watercolor and collage images of Roberto in action in multiple repeated layers to express the speed, power, impact, and sound he embodied when playing baseball"
Perdomo and Collier have come together to create wonderful biography on Roberto Clemente. Baseball fans of all ages will love it.
2 comments:
Hey Doret,
I think it's been a while for Bryan Collier. I'll be looking out for this one!
Edi- Collier also illus. Dave the Potter by Laban Carrick Hill, this year. That looks beautiful as well.
Sometimes I like when illus. take a break. I can appreciate their work that much more when they come back.
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