Float Like a Butterfly

September 16, 2002
Shange (I Live in Music) offers a streamlined, clearly affectionate account of the life of Muhammad Ali, who, she says in an introductory note, continues to inspire "hope and courage." Her portrait effectively reveals the fighter's personality, re-creating conversations between young Cassius and his parents and later quoting some of his well-known proclamations. Rodriguez (Mama Does the Mambo) begins with a close-up view of the subject as a child, poised and gazing heavenward, then shifts to a full-bleed spread that conveys the historical backdrop: the boy stands at a "colored" water fountain, on the right of the horizontal painting, looking across the gutter at a "white" fountain ("As a boy, he struggled to make his way in the segregated world of the pre-civil rights South," reads the text). The author subtly intimates that his parents are the source of Ali's confidence (his father compliments him on his way with words; his mother tells him, "So long as you are alive, I want you to remember, you are God's work"). The volume nicely characterizes this modern-day hero, with poster-like illustrations and punchy text, but for a more thorough picture-book biography, readers will do better with last season's Champion: The Story of Muhammad Ali
(Walker) by James Haskins, illus. by Eric Velasquez. Ages 5-9.

October 1, 2002
K-Gr 3-Shange sings Muhammad Ali's praises in this visually appealing picture-book tribute. The first half of the book highlights significant events in Ali's childhood. The theft of his bike inspired him to begin boxing; growing up amid racism in the pre-civil rights South fueled him to excel to become the greatest. The text touches on his embrace of Islam, his name change, his refusal to fight in Vietnam, and major wins and losses in the ring. The story whizzes by with lightning speed and is spare enough to read aloud in one sitting. Bordered quotes in bold print jump off the pages. There is not a negative word about the former champ, though his career and personality are certainly not without controversy. The cartoon artwork, full page and double spread, is a definite draw for comic-book fans. The action-packed illustrations are as dramatic as the text and accentuate the superhero theme, never letting readers forget that Ali is "a hero for all time."-Ajoke' T. I. Kokodoko, Oakland Public Library, CA

Copyright 2002 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2002
Gr. 2-4, younger for reading aloud. This picture-book biography begins with a stark two-page spread depicting a young Cassius Clay using the water fountain marked "colored" while staring intently at the one for whites. The book follows Clay through his childhood in Jim Crow-era Louisville, Kentucky, and chronicles how he becomes Muhammad Ali, three-time heavyweight champion of the world. Rodriguez's pastel-and-gouache paintings reflect the frenetic energy of their subject by allowing Ali's color (darker than in real life) to seep outside the inked outline of his body, and his subtle utilization of spray paint lends an urban edge to the pictures. As in Doreen Rappaport's "Martin's Big Words "(2001), the design emphasizes certain words and phrases. Unlike that work, though, the phrases in bold type aren't always quotations, and some of them ("HEAVEN," "1960 OLYMPICS") fall flat. Shange, best known for the play "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide" . . .," has masterfully captured the unique cadence of Ali's voice as she offers an unabashedly positive story that will leave kids cheering and shadowboxing. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2002, American Library Association.)