Roberto Clemente, Pride of the Pittsburgh Pirates by Jonah Winter

This was a fantastic book about the life of Roberto Clemente, a deceased player of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Winter starts the book out by talking about Clemente's life as a young child in Puerto Rico, during which time he had no money but possessed a lot of determination, many dreams and was very resourceful. It shows his progression from a young child practicing on a muddy field with a baseball glove (made from a coffee sack) and a bat (made from the branch of a guava tree) to an adult when he became one of the most admired major league players of all time. Winter included details about the prejudice Clemente faced from the media- they called him "lazy," a "Latino hothead," and made fun of his Spanish accent. Finally, the book ends with the story of his death. He died trying to help earthquake victims in Central America. Not only does the author want us to remember Clemente for his unbelievable baseball skills and strong work ethic, he wants us to remember him as a great person. The illustrations were amazingly impacting and perfectly complimented the brilliant writing style of the author.