Call Me Roberto!

June 1, 2024
Grades 2-4 Admiring biographies of the great baseball player and humanitarian for younger readers abound, but here, sports journalist Alonso takes a different angle: "Many Pittsburgh fans love Roberto's bold style," she writes, "but not everyone is quick to embrace a Black man from Puerto Rico who speaks Espa�ol." Though she covers on-field highlights up to his three-thousandth hit, it's Clemente's insistent identity as a Latin American in the face of jeering references to his accent in the press and efforts to rename him "Bob"--not to mention poor treatment on the road due to Jim Crow laws--that to her (and many Latine ball players since) make him an inspirational figure: "El m�s valioso." "Bold style" is a good way to characterize Gutierrez's illustrations, too, as the sports star swats powerfully, runs bases, and makes catches in sinuous blurs of action or off-the-field poses within intricately interwoven frames and strong, swirling backdrops. Photos, a time line, and a glossary of the occasional Spanish words and phrases join a personal note from the author at the end.

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Starred review from July 8, 2024
In this stirring biography of Puerto Rican baseball player Roberto Clemente (1934–1972), Alonso celebrates the athlete’s contributions to baseball and human rights. The smartly paced narrative kicks off with Clemente’s childhood in Puerto Rico (“Roberto lives to swing/ and slide./ To catch./ To throw./ To run”), then follows his arc to the major league, joining the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1955. Many fans appreciate the player’s “bold style, but not everyone is quick to embrace a Black man from Puerto Rico.” Acrylic, colored pencil, and crayon illustrations by Gutierrez impart vibrancy to lively art that emphasizes the figure’s athletic ability and connection with the public—one spread shows Clemente feted inside a colorful heart that represents Puerto Rico but sitting alone in the blues and grays of a Pittsburgh that won’t acknowledge him. Refusing to accept this treatment, Clemente insists, “I represent the common people of America. So I am going to be treated like a human being.” An author’s note, timeline, and more conclude. Ages 7–10.

August 1, 2024
Despite years of racism and discrimination, Roberto Clemente became a baseball legend. Born in 1934, Clemente grew up in Puerto Rico, where he played baseball using a tree branch and a tin can. At 19, he left the island to play professional b�isbol but spent most of his time on the bench. In 1955 he joined the Pittsburgh Pirates; fans "[loved] Roberto's bold style," but as a Black Puerto Rican man who spoke English with an accent, he encountered bigotry. Despite his acrobatic plays, his teammates mocked him, newspapers dubbed him a showoff, and many insultingly called him "Bob." By 1960 he was an All-Star who led the Pirates to victory in his first World Series. Although he was passed over for MVP because of racist attitudes and suffered further injustices while training with the team in segregated Florida, he finished the season with a .351 batting average and in 1961 won his first Gold Glove. Sports journalist Alonso weaves Spanish words into the story and ratchets up the narrative's energy with play-by-play descriptions of Clemente's athleticism. Caldecott honoree Gutierrez's vibrant mixed-media illustrations evoke urban murals or Afro-Caribbean fabrics, pulsing with swirls, designs, and actions saturated in color and fueled by emotion. Alonso's author's note offers more context and emphasizes that though Clemente wasn't the first Afro-Latine player on an American or National League team, he nevertheless made important strides. An inspirational, fast-paced biography of a man who broke barriers for athletes of color. (timeline, glossary, translation of a quotation, selected bibliography, illustrator's note, archival photographs, photo credits)(Picture-book biography. 7-10)

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Starred review from August 1, 2024

Gr 1-4-From his time as a young boy in Puerto Rico, playing ball with a tin can and a tree branch to a World Series-winning MVP, Roberto Clemente was an extraordinary baseball player. Recruited onto a Major League team at age 19, Clemente was drafted onto the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1954. Despite his skill, however, as a Black man in the 1950s, he faced taunts from spectators and journalists, and prejudicial treatment in hotels and businesses, which separated him from his teammates during training sessions. Over the years, however, he was recognized with multiple awards and accolades. The text is mostly clear and accessible, though some of the language is geared to true baseball fans, e.g., "he ropes a single to center field, driving in a run." The real stars of the book are Gutierrez's incredible illustrations; Clemente's face is rendered realistically while vivid colors, shapes, and lines swirl and swoop across the pages, mimicking the arc of a ball or a path of a base runner. Words relating to the text are included in the mixed-media art, including the title words "Call me Roberto," which was Clemente's plea to not anglicize his name to "Bob," as some wanted. Included are an author's note that describes Clemente's early death at age 38 in a plane crash, a time line, illustrator's note, glossary of Spanish words, photographs, and a selected bibliography. VERDICT An appealing and beautifully illustrated biography, this book deserves a place on all library shelves.-Sue Morgan

Copyright 2024 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2024
In engaging, economical, and colloquial prose, Alonso chronicles the ascent and career highs of legendary right fielder Clemente (1934-1972), who endured racism as a Spanish-speaking Black man while shattering records during his illustrious baseball career. This energetic account begins with young Roberto playing beisbol in Carolina, Puerto Rico, using crinkled-up cans for baseballs and branches for bats. After a talent scout spots him in 1955, the nineteen-year-old travels to Montreal, where he spends more time on the bench than the field. Then he joins the Pittsburgh Pirates and impresses everyone with his ability to hit, slide, and leap for catches. Alonso (a journalist for MLB.com) writes with the immediacy of a play-by-play announcer, whisking readers from one achievement to the next. She directly addresses the extreme prejudice Clemente experienced: crowds heckle him for speaking espanol; dismissive reporters insist on calling him Bob instead of Roberto. Gutierrez's inventive mixed-media illustrations explode with dynamic colors and kinetic motion. Each double-page spread resembles an intricate mural, capturing jumps in time and changes in locale with swirls and attention-grabbing line work. While Gutierrez employs many abstract touches throughout, he gives Clemente an expressive photorealistic face that shows his determination and drive. Excellent back matter includes a timeline, a bibliography, photos, and an informative note from Alonso. Brian E. Wilson

(Copyright 2024 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2024
In engaging, economical, and colloquial prose, Alonso chronicles the ascent and career highs of legendary right fielder Clemente (1934�? 1972), who endured racism as a Spanish-speaking Black man while shattering records during his illustrious baseball career. This energetic account begins with young Roberto playing b�isbol in Carolina, Puerto Rico, using crinkled-up cans for baseballs and branches for bats. After a talent scout spots him in 1955, the nineteen-year-old travels to Montreal, where he spends more time on the bench than the field. Then he joins the Pittsburgh Pirates and impresses everyone with his ability to hit, slide, and leap for catches. Alonso (a journalist for MLB.com) writes with the immediacy of a play-by-play announcer, whisking readers from one achievement to the next. She directly addresses the extreme prejudice Clemente experienced: crowds heckle him for speaking espa�ol; dismissive reporters insist on calling him Bob instead of Roberto. Gutierrez's inventive mixed-media illustrations explode with dynamic colors and kinetic motion. Each double-page spread resembles an intricate mural, capturing jumps in time and changes in locale with swirls and attention-grabbing line work. While Gutierrez employs many abstract touches throughout, he gives Clemente an expressive photorealistic face that shows his determination and drive. Excellent back matter includes a timeline, a bibliography, photos, and an informative note from Alonso.

(Copyright 2024 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)