Champion: The Story of Muhammad Ali by Jim Haskins, illustrated
by Eric Velasquez. NON-FICTION/PICTURE
BOOK Bloomsbury (Macmillan), 2018.
$18 9781681195889
BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3), EL – ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
Muhammad Ali (Cassius Clay, Jr.) is known as one
of the best heavyweight champions of the world.
When he was little his bike got stolen and Cassius at the time wanted to
find the person who stole it and beat them up, but a policeman told him he
better learn how to fight first and sent him to a gym. From then on, Cassius loved fighting. He trained every chance he got and went on to
win at the Olympics and in other important boxing matches. In his personal life, some people didn’t like
him because he was cocky and confident about how good he was, but he could back
it up with his actions. When Cassius changed
his religion from Christian to Black Muslim, he also changed his name. When he was 39, he got Parkinson’s disease
and eventually had to leave the ring, but he stayed true to his religion, loved his family and
spoke up for what he believed was right.
This is a succinct summary of Ali’s life with fantastic illustrations. The book is text heavy with around three
paragraphs per page spread and might appeal to older kids because of the level
of understanding. I think Muhammad Ali’s
name is famous enough that kids need to have a basic understanding of who he is
and this is the perfect book for that.
C. Peterson
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