Illustrated by Rich Tommaso

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On Sale: Apr 4, 2019
Page Count: 96 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
ISBN-13: 9781368046138

Baseball Hall of Famer Leroy “Satchel” Paige (1906 – 1982) changed the face of the game in a career that spanned five decades. Much has been written about this larger-than-life pitcher, but when it comes to Paige, fact does not easily separate from fiction. He made a point of writing his own history . . . and then re-writing it. A tall, lanky fireballer, he was arguably the Negro League’s hardest thrower, most entertaining storyteller and greatest gate attraction. Now the Center for Cartoon Studies turns a graphic novelist’s eye to Paige’s story. Told from the point of view of a sharecropper, this compelling narrative follows Paige from game to game as he travels throughout the segregated South.

In stark prose and powerful graphics, author and artist share the story of a sports hero, role model, consummate showman, and era-defining American.

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The Center for Cartoon Studies Presents

"Numerous books have been written about Satchel Paige and Jim Crow laws, but this book, with its strong graphics is in another league-perfection."
Library Media Connection
"Raw and memorable."
Chicago Tribune
"Sturm's text poignantly conveys the quiet bitterness of his hero, and Tommaso's spare, two-tone drawings brilliantly contrast the physical beauty of the old, rural South with the savagery of its social institutions."
The New York Times Book Review
* "By emphasizing Paige's influence and mythos rather than focusing on details about his life or career, Sturm and Tommaso offer a powerful and unique testimony to his legacy."
Publishers Weekly, starred review
* "This visually powerful, suspenseful, even profound story makes an excellent choice for readers interested in baseball or in the history of race relations."
Booklist, starred review
* "[T]his graphic novel . . . imparts as clear a picture of the aggressive style of black baseball as it does of the realities of life in the rural Deep South in Paige's barnstorming heyday."
Kirkus Reviews, starred review
PRAISE FOR AMELIA EARHART: THIS BROAD OCEAN
2011 YALSA Great Graphic Novel for Teens
PRAISE FOR AMELIA EARHART: THIS BROAD OCEAN

* "Like Earhart herself, this book ought to soar exuberantly into the hearts of its readers."
Kirkus Reviews, starred review
PRAISE FOR ANNIE SULLIVAN AND THE TRIALS OF HELEN KELLER
2013 Eisner Award
PRAISE FOR ANNIE SULLIVAN AND THE TRIALS OF HELEN KELLER

* "[B]rilliantly conceived and executed. . . . [R]arely is [this story] presented in such a breathtaking, original, and empathetic fashion."
Booklist, starred review
PRAISE FOR HOUDINI: THE HANDCUFF KING
Booklist Top Ten Graphic Novel for Youth
PRAISE FOR HOUDINI: THE HANDCUFF KING

* "Bertozzi's illustrations are simply spectacular."
Kirkus Reviews, starred review
PRAISE FOR THOREAU AT WALDEN
2009 ALA Best Book for Young Adults
PRAISE FOR THOREAU AT WALDEN

* "Porcellino creates a poetic alternation of words and silences that effectively draws the reader into Thoreau's point of view."
Kirkus Reviews, starred review

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James Sturm

About the Author

James Sturm is a cartoonist and the cofounder of The Center for Cartoon Studies. His graphic novels include The Golem’s Mighty Swing, Market Day, and Off Season. His picture books for children include Ape and Armadillo Take Over The World, Birdsong, and the Adventures in Cartooning series (with Andrew Arnold and Alexis Frederick-Frost).

Rich Tommaso started writing and drawing original comics and graphic novels in 1993. He is mostly known for his series of crime novels, the first of which was Clover Honey. Since then, he has penned a few more crime books, including Sam Hill: The Cavalier Mr. Thompson, Dark Corridor, and Dry County. At the moment he is drawing a new, but classically-styled, Dick Tracy comic series with Mike, Lee, and Laura Allred. Aside from his crime work he’s made a dozen other comics and graphic novels in various genres, including Spy Seal, She Wolf, Vikings’ End, Don’t Look Back, 8 1/2 Ghosts, Perverso!, The Horror of Collier County, and a humorous travel book called Let’s Hit the Road. He lives in Atlanta, GA with his girlfriend, Amy, and their two cats.

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