I got this as an audiobook, not realizing how short it was. So I missed the illustrations, but it was still pretty interesting. Made me curious to find an adult biography. ( )

In my opinion, this book was long overdue, putting away my bias as a Boxing fan the story of Joe Louis is one that should've been told long ago! The pacing of the plot was amazing as we were given time truly soak in these masterfully illustrations, from a 3rd person point of view. The language is eloquent, so you may not want to give this story to extremely young readers, but the writing flows in a way where I'd be tempted to take a risk on the younger readers comprehending this story. The characters are written just as real as they were not too long ago when this all transpired, a truly spectacular work of nonfiction that I would implore any teacher to use. ( )

A Nation’s Hope: the Story of Boxing Legend Joe Louis
Matt de la Pena (2011)
I am a big fan of this book for many different reasons. The first reason being that it is very easy to relate to many different subjects. Not only can students from an english class hear this book and look at different areas of writing and symbolism, but a teacher from a history class would also be able to use this book in his class as well. This non-fiction book about a boxing legend is a great story about WWII as well as the civil right movement. Not only does Joe Louis have the chance to prove himself over a white man, he is also able to show those in his own country that he will defeat his german opponent. At this time in history the germans are trying to take over the entirety of Europe and are lead by a extremist leader who is trying to conquer mass genocide against all Jews. At first he was unable to win and did not gain this trust and admiration from his country, but that second time fighting he had much more of a drive. At the end of this fight we see that he wins and the whites and blacks of the United States rejoice together. This not only shows the students a great historical event that took place in our country, but it also shows that even if they do not get along with certain people they can stick together and fight for the common good. Another great feature of this book is the design of the illustrations. I liked how the illustrator chose to add in newspaper clippings as well as other artifacts as they showed how information would be told to communities at that time. For us we would see a notification on our phones but I was easily able to tell the era this book was set in even before reading it and just flipping along with the pictures.

6. This was a fantastic take on the life and boxing career of Joe Louis. I really enjoyed the narrative format. The text, using few words, was poetic and powerful.
7. Curricular connections to this book could be with African American studies. This book did a great job of pointing out how Joe Louis provided hope to both African Americans and all other Americans during the World War II era. ( )

This book is a true story about a man named Joe Louis who lived during the time of World War II. Joe Louis was an African American fighter at this time that fought German boxer Max Schmeling in a fight that, to America, represented America’s war with Germany. This picture book biography represents the power of American people and the bravery and battle they fought for our country.
I liked this book for a few reasons. The first thing was that I liked that this book was about a professional boxer and it was written for kids. I think this will be a good way to introduce students to boxing through a fun book about a legend in the sport. Also I liked how the book was written for students ages six through eight years old. Those are the reasons I liked this book.