Undefeated

ALEXANDER, Kwame. The Undefeated. Illustrated by Kadir Nelson. Boston: Versify [2019]. Oblong 4to, [40]pp. Color pictorial boards. Light blue endpapers; color illustrations on nearly every page. A fine copy in a fine dust jacket (no medal affixed). Signed by the author, Newbery Medalist Kwame Alexander, and with a bookplate signed by the artist, Caldecott Medalist Kadir Nelson, laid-in.

First edition. 2020 Caldecott Medal Winner and 2020 Newbery Honor Book! This gorgeously illustrated poem is a love letter to Black life in America. It highlights the unspeakable trauma of slavery, the faith and fire of the civil rights movement, and the grit, passion, and perseverance of some of the world’s greatest heroes. The text is peppered with references to the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, and others, offering deeper insights into the accomplishments of the past, while bringing stark attention to the endurance and spirit of those surviving and thriving in the present.