Champion: The Story of Muhammad Ali by Jim Haskins, illustrated by Eric Velasquez. NON-FICTION PICTURE BOOK Bloomsbury (Macmillan), 2018. $18 9781681195889
BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3), EL – ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
Muhammad Ali (Cassius Clay, Jr.) is known as one of the best heavyweight champions of the world. When he was little his bike got stolen and Cassius at the time wanted to find the person who stole it and beat them up, but a policeman told him he better learn how to fight first and sent him to a gym. From then on, Cassius loved fighting. He trained every chance he got and went on to win at the Olympics and in other important boxing matches. In his personal life, some people didn’t like him because he was cocky and confident about how good he was, but he could back it up with his actions. When Cassius changed his religion from Christian to Black Muslim, he also changed his name. When he was 39, he got Parkinson’s disease and eventually had to leave the ring, but he stayed true to his religion, loved his family and spoke up for what he believed was right.
This is a succinct summary of Ali’s life with fantastic illustrations. The book is text heavy with around three paragraphs per page spread and might appeal to older kids because of the level of understanding. I think Muhammad Ali’s name is famous enough that kids need to have a basic understanding of who he is and this is the perfect book for that.
C. Peterson
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