Bird in a Box

Pinkney, Andrea Davis. (2011). Bird in a box. New York: Little, Brown. Although there are three 12-year-olds at the center of this story,  there is also an important adult who brings them all together without realizing it. In some respects, his story is as important as the children's, and they have quite a lot in common with their hero, boxer Joe Louis. Otis, Willie, and Hibernia are alike in a lot of ways although it might not seem so at first. Although their circumstances may differ, they are all dealing with loss while holding on to dreams they have shared with no one else, and they are fighters. Their lives eventually intersect over the course of this book as they form bonds among themselves but also with those around them, expanding the concept of what family means.  As they follow the career of Louis as he tries to claim the heavyweight boxing crown, his wins and losses almost seem to mirror their own, and if Joe can become the first African-American heavyweight boxing champion against all odds, why, maybe their dreams can come true as well.

Pinkney makes readers feel as though they are sitting in the same room with Otis, Willie, and Hibernia, ears pressed up against the radio, listening as their Joe makes his stand. I loved how influential this iconic athlete was, and how the men, women, and children who followed him drew inspiration from his courage and determination so that his large victory gave rise to their own smaller ones. What a beautiful story filled with heaping doses of unexpected cruelty sweetened by tender moments!