(1) YA Illustrated by Dawud Anyabwile. Smith's graphic memoir (co-authored with multi-awardee Barnes) provides context for the iconic 1968 image of two Black Olympians, gold medalist Smith and bronze medalist John Carlos, standing on the medal podium, heads bowed and fists raised. Smith's ­sharecropper parents had moved the family from Texas to California's Central Valley as part of the Great Migration's second wave when he was a child. It was here that sixth grader Tommie beat his nimble-footed older sister Sally (along with the fastest boy in the seventh grade) in a race that "changed everything." His athletic talents earned him a scholarship to San Jose State, where he arrived "oblivious to the extent" of the civil rights movement. But as a Black student on an overwhelmingly white campus during the tumultuous 1960s, Smith's growing awareness of--and involvement in--the fight for racial equality led him to speak out. At the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Smith won gold in the 200 meters; along with Carlos, he staged a protest whose reverberations are still felt today. Anyabwile conveys great emotion in his fluid black-and-white art, which pairs well with the conversational first-person text. The climactic race acts as a narrative through line alongside Smith's life story. The book closes by making direct connections between Smith's actions and modern-day protests by athletes (such as Eric Reid and Colin Kaepernick), with a final shot of a triumphant older Smith, standing under an illuminated set of Olympic rings, with fist defiantly raised. "I hold no regrets...if I could hoist that fist up to the heavens one more time...I'd do it again."

Reviewer: Sam Bloom | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2022

(1) 4-6 Illustrated by Dawud Anyabwile. Patterson and Alexander, two heavyweights in the world of books (and their respective publishing houses), unite to tell the story of how Cassius Clay grew up to be Muhammad Ali, one of the greatest boxers of all time. The book, authorized by the Ali estate, is not so much a biographical novel as a chance to hang out with young Cassius Clay as he lives his daily life in Louisville in the late 1950s--going to school, being with friends, shooting hoops, watching boxing on television, and working, while navigating the dangers of life in a segregated city, all of which is related in lean and eloquent first-person verse with plenty of white space on each page. Clay's poetic narration is framed by first-person prose sections (called "rounds" instead of chapters) by his (fictional) best friend Lucius Wakely, who, by the end of the story, writes for a big newspaper and is at ringside for the "Rumble in the Jungle," Ali's 1974 fight in Zaire against George Foreman. Anyabwile, who illustrated the graphic novel edition of Alexander's The Crossover (rev. 5/14), adds a powerful visual element with occasional dynamic, full-page black-and-white images; and a short bibliography is appended.

Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2020

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Dawud Anyabwile. When G'ma asks Scoob to go on "a little adventure" during spring break, he doesn't hesitate to say yes (especially since he's been grounded for fighting at school). Once inside her "sweet ride"--the new RV she bought after selling her house--Scoob isn't so sure he made the right choice. First, there are the people on the road who look at them funny because he is Black and she is white. Then there's G'ma's treasure box, which contains old maps, postcards, newspaper clippings, and a copy of Travelers' Green Book: For Vacation Without Aggravation, 1963. Next, Scoob catches his grandmother changing license plates and refusing to answer Dad's calls. Finally, there's G'ma talking in her sleep about "fixing it." But what is "it"? Scoob isn't so sure he knows who his grandmother is anymore. Young readers will enjoy the mystery and suspense created by G'ma's unusual behavior and the family secrets that are revealed. Occasional maps and illustrations appear throughout, highlighting important moments in each chapter. This middle-grade debut by Stone (Dear Martin, rev. 11/17; Jackpot, rev. 11/19) is an entertaining and unexpected intergenerational caper.

Reviewer: Nicholl Denice Montgomery | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2020

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Dawud Anyabwile. This graphic-novel adaption of Alexander's Newbery Medal–winning verse novel, about African American twins and middle-school b-ballers Josh and JB Bell, retains all the on-court drama, swaggering narrative voice, and poignant emotional pitches of the original. The basketball action comes alive in the angular, motion-filled art, in shades of black, white, and (aptly) orange; the art also captures the story's more tender social interactions, moments of familial intimacy, and later scenes of heartbreak surrounding the boys' father's death.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2014; November, 2019

(1) 4-6 Illustrated by Dawud Anyabwile. In this 1988-set prequel to The Crossover, twelve-year-old Charlie Bell is spending the summer with his grandparents following the sudden death of his father. He finds solace on the basketball court. This story of realistic family dynamics, a search for confidence, and first romance is propelled by energetic, staccato poetry and elevated by a visceral exploration of grief. Occasional comics visualizing the fast-paced basketball action explode off the page.

Reviewer: Eric Carpenter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2018

(4) YA Adapted by Guy A. Sims. Illustrated by Dawud Anyabwile. A graphic novel adaptation of Myers's Printz-winning classic about sixteen-year-old Steve Harmon's murder trial following a botched robbery. Sims's dialogue-heavy text (some of it printed very small) ably distills Myers's plot; the visualizing-his-life-as-a-movie aspect can be confusing without familiarity with Myers's original. Anyabwile's panel illustrations do an excellent job capturing Steve's fractured identity (and his culpability) and heightening suspense about the trial's outcome.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz