We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball

Nelson, K. (2008). We Are the Ship:The Story of Negro League Baseball. New York, NY: Hyperion Books.

This is the story of the African American players of the Negro League. Before sports was integrated, before the country was fully integrated, there was a baseball league for colored players. This book tells their stories. Athletes like Wilber "Bullet" Rogan, Quincy Trouppe, Satchel Paige, and even Jackie Robinson had a home in this league before they were welcomed in the MLB. The narrator shares how the league was formed, what it was like to travel on the buses, how they were treated as heroes and disrespected. 

Back then players played because they loved the game. Their talent was cultivated anywhere else. Their fame was limited. They persevered through rough times to pave the way for future athletes to live their dreams.

This is written as if it were an autobiography. The narrator is an unknown observer. The first person account gives readers insight on how the player felt.  Teachers can use this book to bring up the ideas of fairness and injustice. It lets young readers know that our country wasn't always welcoming to everyone no matter if they were talented or not.