©2007 Terry Widener
Client: Harcourt
Medium: Acrylic on paper
Size:Various Sizes
Use:Children Book
Title: Satchel Paige, Don't Look Back
 

AWARDS

2006 Junior Library Guild Premier Selection Award
2006 Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Best Book Award

REVIEWS

Publishers Weekly
These creative collaborators (Lou Gehrig: The Luckiest Man) offer a multidimensional portrait of another athlete worthy of the spotlight.
Born in Alabama in 1906, Satchel Paige was called by many the greatest pitcher of his day (quoted here saying as much are his
contemporaries Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams and Dizzy Dean), yet for years he was barred from playing in the Major Leagues because
he was African-American. Adler's crisp yet conversational narrative throws out nuggets about Paige's boyhood (e.g., he earned his nickname
after rigging up a pole and rope to carry multiple satchels at the train depot). Aided by Widener's stylized acrylics, which serve up alluring
perspectives of on-field action, the author chronicles Paige's accomplishments pitching for semi-pro black baseball teams and in the
Negro Leagues. Finally-on his 42nd birthday (he never confessed his birth date until he retired, at age 59), and after pitching for 25 years-
he signed with the Cleveland Indians. Readers will cheer Paige's long overdue, triumphant moment when later that year he was the first
African-American to pitch in a World Series. Pithy quotes by Paige, interspersed throughout the text, also convey his gumption and grit.
Ages 5-8. (Jan.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Book Review
Satchel Paige was an amazing, immensely popular pitcher who won many games in the Negro Leagues. He was admired and respected
by the white baseball stars like Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams and Dizzy Dean, who faced him in off-season barnstorming games, but was
virtually unknown by white baseball fans. He persevered through all the hardships and finally reached the major leagues at the age of 42,
the year after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier. Adler captures the real man behind the persona that Paige so carefully projected.
He had whimsical names for his pitches, like "trouble ball" and whipsey-dipsey-do." "Don't look back, something might be gaining on you"
is just one of the rules he invented for himself. But he was also outspoken about segregation and the limited opportunities of African Americans.
He knew that racism had cheated him of a major-league career. Paige's innate dignity shines in Widener's cartoon-like, acrylic illustrations that
beautifully complement the text. Another winning effort from Adler.
(chronology, sources) (Picture book/biography. 7-11) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Booklist
The great baseball pitcher was always larger than life: here he looms as a folk hero. Adler tells the story of Paige's life simply: the seventh of 11 children,
he was sent to reform school for petty theft but was famous for his arm from his earliest years. Successful in the Negro Leagues for decades, he eventually
became a major league rookie--in his early forties. Widener's acrylic paintings elongate and exaggerate the figures, using a rubbery perspective and
old-fashioned hues to great effect.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Children's Literature
This book could be described as a picture book biography. Younger readers may be drawn to the vibrant acrylic illustrations, while
older readers will easily follow the text—more text than the average picture book. This is the story of an athlete, a sport, and racism.
Satchel Paige is known as one of the best pitchers ever, and his dream was to play in the major leagues. "But no team would take
him because he was black." Rather than allow the racism of the time to dampen his dream, Satchel Paige continued to excel.
His response to racist treatment was to answer with his performance on the field. When players on an all-white semi-professional
team made racist comments, Paige had his teammates sit down on the field, and then he threw three straight strikeouts.
This story will inspire readers that it is never too late to realize a dream. At the age of forty-two, Satchel Paige made it to the majors,
where he played until he was fifty-nine years old! This is a great story for a baseball fan as well as readers who may not know the first thing about the sport.

Horn Book Review
This readable, thorough picture book biography follows the iconoclastic African American pitcher from his childhood through his unprecedented success
in the Negro Leagues to his determination to make it into major-league baseball--until 1947, open only to whites. Adler ably conveys Paige's larger-than-life
personality, aided by Widener's bold and appropriately exaggerated acrylic illustrations. A timeline and brief source note are included.
Copyright 2007 of The Horn Book, Inc. All rights reserved.
From HORN BOOK, Copyright © The Horn Book, used with permission.

LibraryThing
Satchel Paige’s story is more than the story of one of the greatest baseball pitchers of all time; it is the story of perseverance and determination.
From his impoverished early life as one of eleven children in rural Alabama, to his success in the Negro Baseball Leagues, to fighting racist constraints
on ball players, to playing with the Cleveland Indians and being the first African American to pitch in a World Series game, Paige can inspire all of us.
Adler and Widener also collaborated on the Orbis Pictus Honor book, America’s Champion Swimmer: Gertrude Ederle (Gulliver Books, 2000) and the
ALA Notable Children’s Book, Lou Gehrig: The Luckiest Man (Voyager Books, 2001). (***)
 LeahvanBelle | Jul 1, 2008 |

Flipkart
Adler and Widener, the award-winning team behind several acclaimed sports biographies, have created a powerful, inspiring story about standout pitcher
Satchel Page, who began his career in the 1920s and rose to stardom in the Negro Baseball League.
Satchel Paige could throw a baseball like no one else. But when he began his career in the 1920s, even the best African American players were kept
out of the major leagues. Paige rose to stardom in the Negro Baseball Leagues--and he waited for his chance to play in the "big show." Finally, at an
age when most players retire, Paige proved that staying in the game pays off. David A. Adler and Terry Widener, the award-winning team behind several
acclaimed sports biographies, have created a powerful story about a talented athlete who just wouldn't give up. "Satchel Paige" is an inspired subject for
baseball lovers, readers who are interested in African American history, and anyone who has held on to a dream.