Call Me Roberto!
Roberto Clemente Goes to Bat for Latinos
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- $199.00
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- $199.00
Descripción editorial
A Robert F. Sibert Honor Book
ALSC Notable Children's Book
A BCCB Blue Ribbon
Horn Book Fanfare 2024
2025 NCSS-CBC Notable Social Studies Book Winner
NPR’s Books We Love List 2024
New York Public Library Best Book 2024
Chicago Public Library Best of the Best 2024
Evanston Public Library’s 101 Great Books for Kids 2024
Included on the 2025 ALSC Día Reading List
Here is the inspirational story of Major League Baseball player Roberto Clemente—not Bob—who endured years of racism and discrimination to become one of the greatest baseball players of all time.
★ School Library Journal, starred review
★ The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review
★ Publishers Weekly, starred review
★ The Horn Book, starred review
Roberto Clemente always loved baseball. Growing up in Carolina, Puerto Rico, he swung tree branches (since he didn’t have a bat) and hit tin cans. He was always batting, pitching, running, sliding. His dedication paid off when, at the age of 19, he was tapped for a major league team. First stop: chilly Montreal . . . where he warmed the bench and himself, longing to play baseball. Months later, he finally got his chance with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Clemente had an instant impact on the field—hitting the ball and making it to first base and finally home. Many Pittsburgh fans loved his bold style on the field, but not everyone was quick to embrace a Black man from Puerto Rico who spoke español.
This nonfiction picture book by MLB.com journalist Nathalie Alonso and award-winning illustrator Rudy Gutierrez shows the emotional highs and lows of Roberto Clemente’s career as he fought racism—from fans, reporters, and other figures in the sport—to become one of the greatest baseball players of all time. With English and Spanish words intermingled in the text, this book will inspire young readers as they learn about Clemente’s contributions to Black, Latino, and American history.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
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.
