A little boy named Clemente learns about his namesake, the great baseball player Roberto Clemente, in this joyful picture book biography. Born in Puerto Rico, Roberto Clemente was the first Latin American player to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, and the only player for whom the five-year initiation period was waived. Known not only for his exceptional baseball skills but also for his extensive charity work in Latin America, Clemente was well-loved during his eighteen years playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He died in a plane crash while bringing aid supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua. Willie Perdomo’s rhythmic text and Bryan Collier’s energetic art combine to tell the amazing story of one of baseball’s greats.
- ISBN: 9780805082241
- Author: Perdomo, Willie
- Illustrator: Collier, Bryan
- Published: 2010 , Macmillan
- Themes: Baseball, Identity, values
- Descriptors: Biography - Autobiography- Memoir, Caribbean, Picture Book, Primary (ages 6-9), Puerto Rico
- No. of pages: 44
Just as beautifully crafted as Visiting Langston, Perdomo has created a literary work that weaves biographical content of the life of Roberto Clemente with the poetic journey a young boy, Clemente, takes in understanding his namesake. Readers ride alongside narrator, young Clemente, as he shares why his own father and uncle admire the baseball player. Through the inclusion of Spanish words and phrases, biological information, and narrative form, readers also get a sense of why Roberto Clemente’s legacy lives on. While your initial reading might be dedicated to immersing yourself in the artistic language, be sure to read it again for the illustrations alone. Collier created watercolor, layered, collage images that make readers feel as if they’ll be pulled right into the page. Still hungry for more information on Clemente? Read the timeline at the back, as well as the author and illustrator’s notes highlighting their personal connections to the content.
There is something very personal in this book – perhaps that it deals with a child’s namesake and his personal account of Clemente’s life – that really drew me in (even though I am not a baseball fan!). It tells the story of the famous Puerto Rican baseball player’s personal life and career through the lens of a young Puerto Rican boy (also named Clemente) living in the Bronx, NY. Clemente is a not only a national hero, but he is this boy’s hero, which shines through the text in the accounts of the baseball player’s life and the effects his legacy has on this boy and his family. This book is not just about baseball or a famous athlete (who was also deeply involved in humanitarian work); it is about pride of one’s roots, identity and the people and memories that have the power to span oceans, cultures and even time. The book gave me a very triumphant feeling while reading it, despite the fact that the baseball player’s life ended in tragedy. I would love to incorporate this book into my classroom to explore other national and cultural heroes in children’s lives, as well as the different things that shape our identity.