Beginning ~ with a fever to play baseball

Beginning

On an island called Puerto Rico,

where baseball players are as plentiful

as tropical flowers in a rain forest,

there was a boy who had very little

but a fever to play

and win at baseball.

Roberto Clemente: Pride of the Pittsburgh Pirates ~ by Jonah Winter, illustrated by Raúl Colón, 2005, children's picture book (Puerto Rico), 40 pages, 10/10

This book about the late Afro-Puerto Rican MLB legend Roberto Clemente can't be found in the shelves of public school libraries in Florida's Duval County these days.  It and other books about Latino figures — such as the late Afro-Cuban salsa singer Celia Cruz and Justice Sonia Sotomayor — are among the more than one million titles that have been stored away in the Duval County Public Schools District.  Why?  Because school officials are in the process of determining if such books comply with state laws and can be included in school libraries, according to NBCNews.com.

When I read that, I immediately put it on reserve at my library to take a look for myself.  (Amazon was "temporarily out of stock.")

What's in this book?

Amazon says:  "On an island called Puerto Rico, there lived a little boy who wanted only to play baseball.  Although he had no money, Roberto Clemente practiced and practiced until — eventually — he made it to the Major Leagues.   As a right-fielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates, he fought tough opponents — and even tougher racism — but with his unreal catches and swift feet, he earned his nickname, "The Great One."

 

He led the Pirates to two World Series, hit three-thousand hits, and was the first Latino to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.  But it wasn't just baseball that made Clemente legendary — he was also a humanitarian dedicated to improving the lives of others." 

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts

Book Beginnings on Fridays.