Stars in the Shadows: The Negro League All-Star Game of 1934

by Charles R. Smith Jr., Frank Morrison (Illustrator)

Meet Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, and other baseball heroes in this unique radio broadcast reenactment of a legendary All-Star Game, marking a pivotal time in sports history.1934, Chicago. Come step back in time to witness the best of the best Negro League players take each other on in one of the most fascinating All-Star ballgames in American history.

Using a unique radio broadcast transcript, Coretta Scott King Award Winner Charles R. Smith, Jr. has recreated this momentous event with a lively play-by-play retelling of the second annual Negro League East-West Game. Meet legendary players like Satchel Paige, Turkey Stearness, and Cool Pappa Bell, hang in the stands with the fans, and experience this exhilarating untold, true story—with a lyrical twist.

Stars in the Shadows is a must-have for any baseball aficionado or anyone interested in forgotten history. Beautifully packaged and with incredible black-and-white illustrations by Frank Morrison, this is a rare and extraordinary book.

Genres: Sports, African American, Baseball, Nonfiction, Poetry, Juvenile, History

112 pages, Hardcover

First published January 3, 2012

About the author

Charles R. Smith Jr. is an award-winning author, photographer, and poet with more than thirty books to his credit. His awards include a Coretta Scott King Award for illustration for his photographs accompanying the Langston Hughes poem "My People" and a Coretta Scott King Honor for his biography of Muhammad Ali, Twelve Rounds to Glory. He is the author of Rimshots, Hoop Kings, Hoop Queens, Tall Tales, Short Takes, Diamond Life, and I Am America. A father of three himself, Charles brings his love of basketball and baseball right down to the toddler set in Let's Play Basketball! and Let's Play Baseball! His recent work celebrates subjects he's been interested in since he was a kid, such as The Mighty 12, which honors Greek gods and goddesses. He currently lives in Poughkeepsie, NY, with his wife, Gillian, and their three kids. You can visit him online at www.charlesrsmithjr.com.

Reviews

[Cathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a bit disappointing. I found it because the illustrator did another book that I read recently, and his work was wonderful again here. But the story was odd. The author decided to tell the story in rhyme and it seemed to miss his target audience because of it. The book appears to be an early reader by its length, but rhyme is meant to be read out loud. And it's kind of distracting to read so many long paragraphs of rhyme, it's one thing in a short picture book, but another in many long paragraphs in a row. Also, it's hard for me to tell, I'm not a parent or a teacher, but I do know my little buddy pretty well, and he either likes the books he reads to be stories with a lot of history in them or he likes books full of tons of details about the sports figures. But this is too general and doesn't really do either of those things. There isn't much story to get caught up in, and I know he'll be disappointed in the lack of facts about the players and their statistics and positions, histories, etc. Overall it was just kind of weird. If it had really been a children's book then it would have made more sense, the content is too light for juveniles and the text is too advanced by far for kids. But the illustrations are beautiful and the content that is here is very interesting. It's just such a rich topic and it could have been delivered more powerfully.

[Deb Tyo]

Illustrations are great.

Concept of the book is great...Negro League second annual East-West Game told in nine innings. Interruptions of fan comments and radio commercials are interesting.

However, I found the rhyme difficult to read. I started reading the rhyme and found myself unable to concentrate on the story. Then I started reading the story and tried to forget the rhyme. It just didn't work for me as a reader. I couldn't get into the story and follow the play-by-play.

I'm interested to hear from a true baseball fan, as I am not a true fan of the sport.

I'm also interested to hear from my middle grade students. Will my sport fans be able to read the rhyme and understand the story?

[Brent Darling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basically reads as play-by-play in rhyme, complete with advertisements. Interesting topic, but I've read better books on Negro League baseball before.

[Teacher. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stars in the Shadows: The Negro League All-Star Game of 1934 written by Charles R. Smith Jr. and illustrated by Frank Morrison is also written in verse. This book features a hundred of pages of baseball narrative told from the point of view of a baseball announcer. Intermingled with the sports report are old-fashioned commercials and short fan interviews. The spirit of old fashioned baseball is very alive in this book, but the couplets are sometimes forced and distracting. While the verse may not be natural, the book’s illustrations are absolutely beautiful. The style of the pencil drawn figures fits perfectly with the time period, so much so they almost steal show. Non-fiction books are not often set to verse, and this non-fiction book depicts a truly inspiring story of the Negro League. Recommended for fans of baseball, books in verse, and those inspired by true stories in Grades 3 - 6

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Baseball fans will relish every word on this book that describes the match between the East and West All-Stars of the Negro League in 1934. The graphite illustrations are filled with movement and show the athleticism and talent of these extraordinary players who were forced to play segregated baseball and never received the acclaim of their white counterparts. Many of the players will be familiar from Kadir Nelson's We Are the Ship, but all of them showed determination and a love for the game. The author serves up a play-by-play that moves through all nine innings in rhyming text. Some of the rhymes work well while others seemed a bit awkward when I read them aloud. Most appealing to me, though, were the comments from fans in the stands, sidebars that provided glimpses into how much this game and these players meant to their fans and in at least one case, how they served as inspiration to work toward change and social justice.

[Allisoon · Rating 2 out of 5]

The concept of this book is interesting- a play by play of the 2nd negro-league all-star game. However, it is written in rhyming verse which makes it difficult to read, and distracts from the story. Some interesting components to the book- it cuts out to radio-adds, provides vignettes from fans in the crowd, and has beautiful illustration. This book also pales in comparison to "We are Ship" by Nelson which tells the story of Negro-league baseball for a similar aged audience. This book lacks the emotion and historical context provided by "We are Ship".

[Jaclyn Hillis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun and unique radio broadcast reenactment of the legendary All-Star Game between the East and West, with players voted in by the fans! I also loved the black and white sketches throughout.

1934, Chicago. Come step back in time to witness the best of the best Negro League players take each other on in one of the most fascinating All-Star ballgames in American history.

And now players featured in this book, like Willie Mays, Satchel Paige, and Josh Gibson, and all players of the Negro Leagues will finally be where they belong: Major Leaguers within the official historical record.

[Ryan Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

The illustrations are fantastic and the prose from spectators saves this book. Smith's choice to offer play-by-play of this historic game in poetry is distracting--the meter isn't consistent and some of the rhymes are forced. But the glimpse into attitudes and perspectives on African-American life in the 1930s makes this worth reading.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reliving the Negro League All Star Game of 1934 with sketch illustrations and a radio broadcast format, told in rhyme with interruptions of commercials and fan conversations. An excellent depiction of the game and a lesser known piece of history although the book can get confusing at points. Gr. 3-6

[Brenda Kahn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I appreciated the attempt, but it was tough going for nine whole innings. The rhymes didn't always flow for me.

[Ann]

Top Ten Sports Books for Youth 2012 (Booklist)

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty clever way of presenting the game! Loved the commercial interludes and fan reactions.