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Muhammad Ali A Champion is Born

Summary


In this picture book biography of Muhammad Ali, author Gene Barretta and illustrator Frank Morrison tell the unforgettable childhood story of this legendary boxing champion and how one pivotal moment set him on his path to become the Greatest of All Time.

The Louisville Lip. The Greatest. The People’s Champion. Muhammad Ali had many nicknames. But before he became one of the most recognizable faces in the world, before the nicknames and the championships, before he converted to Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Ali, he was twelve-year-old Cassius Clay riding a brand-new red-and-white bicycle through the streets of Louisville, Kentucky. One fateful day, this proud and bold young boy had that bike stolen, his prized possession, and he wouldn’t let it go. Not without a fight.

This would be the day he discovered boxing. And a champion was born.

Back matter includes biographical overview, photos, bibliography, and more resources.



News


Thank you, Book Riot!

October 27th, 2020

Ali is coming!

November 29th, 2016



Book Reviews


St. Louis Dispatch

February 18th, 2017

The picture book “Muhammad Ali” (HarperCollins, 40 pages, $17.99; ages 4-8) by Gene Barretta and illustrated by Frank Morrison presents a biography of the champion that will connect with kids. Though the story starts out with the many accolades the boxer received, Barretta wisely focuses on how Ali first became involved in the sport as a child.
When 12-year-old Cassius Clay’s beloved bike goes missing, he seeks the help of Officer Joe Martin, whom he finds in a boxing gym. The policeman offers to teach the boy to fight and soon imparts a love of the sport.
The book emphasizes the positive role model Ali became as he fought against racial and religious prejudice.




NY Times

February 12th, 2017

“He owed it all to a stolen bicycle,” Barretta writes in this playful, dynamic look at the champion’s quest for greatness. We see how one childhood incident – the young Cassius Clay reported the theft to a police officer, who invited him to learn to box – set the stage for a long career. There are highlights of his boxing fame, later years and racial-justice and humanitarian work. Morrison (“The Quickest Kid in Clarksville”) gives the art a joyful zing and a serious yet eminently kid-friendly vibe.




School Library Journal

January 3rd, 2017

A kid named Cassius Clay discovers boxing in this nonfiction picture book. Barretta sets the scene through Muhammad Ali’s three record-setting heavyweight championship titles. Oversize comic book–style action words (“POW!”) highlight Ali knocking out Sonny Liston, George Foreman, and Leon Spinks. Circling back to Ali’s childhood, Barretta recounts the oft-cited origin story of 12-year-old Cassius riding high on his brand-new bike. Unfortunately, the bike disappears, and when Cassius reports the theft to police officer and boxing coach Joe Martin, threatening to “whup” the thief, Martin suggests that he first learn how to fight. Regular sessions at the gym develop in Cassius a single-minded determination to be the greatest boxer in the world. As he becomes a more public figure, his self-confidence never wavers, effectively illustrated by a few choice quotes, bold and set apart from the mostly invented dialogue. Morrison’s dynamic oil paintings complement Barretta’s lively text, capturing a self-assured Ali in detailed spreads. Action scenes full of movement and intensity draw readers into the boxing ring and depict Ali’s growth from a gangly youth to a dominant athlete. Two pages of unfailingly positive biographical information fill in the rest of Ali’s career. A brief bibliography and suggestions for additional reading are also appended, but no source notes are included. VERDICT This is an attractive choice as an inspirational read-aloud, but report writers will want to seek more nuanced and thorough sources.
–Chelsea Couillard-Smith, Hennepin County Library, MN




NY Journal of Books

January 3rd, 2017

There is a new picture book by award-winning author and Sesame Street contributor and animator Gene Barretta called Muhammad Ali: A Champion Is Born, and it is lovely beyond words.

In the book, a rambunctious young boy named Cassius Clay is speeding through the rain on his brand new bicycle, trying to make it to the Home Show—an annual bazaar for the black merchants who were prohibited from attending white bazaars to sell their products.

While he and a friend browse the vendors’ booths and daydream about what they’ll buy one day, Cassius’ bicycle is stolen. Cassius is ready to fight, and says so to a policeman he approaches to report the crime. Instead of telling him to calm down or saying that fighting isn’t the way, the policeman, whose name is Officer Martin, tells him that “before you whup somebody, you better learn to fight.”

Officer Martin happens to be a boxing coach, and his statement changes Cassius’ entire life. He introduces Cassius to the gym, where the sweat, alcohol, and sound of boxing gloves thumping bodies and punching bags fire his imagination.

From that time on, Cassius practices day and night, using what is available to him as part of his regimen. For example, instead of actually riding his school bus, he tries to outrace it to increase his skill and endurance. And in order to be fast and quick, he employs his younger brother to hurl rocks at him as hard and fast as he can so Ali can learn to dodge them.

Readers who think they know everything there is to know about Muhammad Ali will love learning about his life before he became Ali. They will learn of his desire to buy his beloved mother a new house, his daydream of hearing his name being broadcast from the school intercom as the heavyweight champion of the world, and they will read how he gives in to the irresistible urge to “draw pictures of boxing robes with the words Cassius Clay, Heavy Weight Champion of the World” on them. After all, these are fantasies that people of all ages can all identify with.

Barretta’s style of writing is fast-paced, realistic, and touching on an elemental level. The fact that the book begins with a layout of the end of Ali’s major achievements (the defeat of Sonny Liston, the pounding of George Foreman, and the win against Leon Spinks—which won him the heavyweight championship for the third time), and then flashes back to his early years gives the book a sort of cinematic feel.

Award-winning artist Frank Morrison handles the illustrations with dignity and flare. Working with what are called “dynamic acrylics,” Morrison captures the very essence of what made Cassius “Ali.” There is a picture of a young, boyishly thin Ali bobbing and weaving as he scowls at his opponent, and his long, skinny arms pounding away at the punching bags as he sharpens his skills. There is another illustration where Ali trains for boxing by trying to outrun his school bus, and another where he tweaks his reflexes by dodging rocks his baby brother throws at him. And of course one of the best illustrations is an intense Ali “floating like a butterfly and stinging like a bee” as he sends George Foreman flying backward during the 1974 Rumble in the Jungle.

This book can be used across a variety of settings, including discussions about American history, black history, or the boxing profession. It can also be used for inspiration in the teens sports arena—especially since one of Ali’s quotes is included at the end: “Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.”

-Rita Lorraine Hubbard




Booklist

December 28th, 2016

After 12-year-old Cassius Clay, as he was known then, had his new red bike stolen, he practiced at the gym and learned to fight back against injustice wherever he saw it. Illustrations in oils in rich browns, shades of grays, and white highlights show the fighter Muhammad Ali in many action poses exhibiting his strength and lightning speed. The strong diagonals in the compositions portray movement and excitement, from boyhood to boxing matches. A “POW!” in a large font peppers several pages as Ali conquers bout after bout to win 56 out of 61 professional fights. The People’s Champion, he was one of the most recognizable athletes in the world, whose poetic statements are legendary (“Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee—His hands can’t hit what his eyes can’t see!”). Back matter gives more information about his life in the ring, his conversion to the Nation of Islam, his struggles with Parkinson’s, and his death, on June 3, 2016. Sure to provide inspiration for young readers.
— Lolly Gepson




Publisher’s Weekly

December 28th, 2016

Barretta (Lincoln and Kennedy: A Pair to Compare) looks at how Muhammad Ali’s boxing career got its start: after the young Cassius Clay’s bike was stolen, a Louisville police officer encouraged him to spend time at a local boxing gym. Working in acrylic, Morrison (The Quickest Kid in Clarksville) creates visceral, dynamic action shots, whether it’s a young Cassius racing down a rainy street on his bicycle or an opening fight sequence that shows him besting Sonny Liston, George Foreman, and Leon Spinks to claim the title of world heavyweight champion three times. An extensive afterword fills in details about Ali’s life, faith, and activism.







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