Hispanic Star: Roberto Clemente

by Claudia Romo Edelman, Sara E. Echenique, Manuel Gutierrez (Illustrator)

Overview

Read about Puerto Rican Baseball Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente in Hispanic Star: Roberto Clemente, and learn the most groundbreaking, iconic Hispanic and Latinx heroes that have shaped our culture and the world in this gripping biography series for young readers, perfect for fans of the Who Was series.

If you can see it, you can be it.

Meet Puerto Rican Baseball Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente, once just a kid from Carolina, Puerto Rico, who loved to play baseball on the streets of his hometown with friends and family. As a right fielder, Roberto played eighteen seasons with Major League Baseball, but his life was tragically cut short when a plane he chartered to bring earthquake relief supplies to Nicaragua crashed. The first Latin American player to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Clemente paved the way for generations of Latinx athletes.

Hispanic Star proudly celebrates Hispanic and Latinx heroes who have made remarkable contributions to American culture and have been undeniable forces in shaping its future.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250828095
Publisher:	Roaring Brook Press
Publication date:	09/06/2022
Series:	Hispanic Star , #1
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	112
File size:	44 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Claudia Romo Edelman is the founder of the We Are All Human Foundation and Hispanic Star and has worked for twenty-five years with internationally recognized institutions, including the United Nations, the Global Fund, the World Economic Forum, and UNICEF. She’s led some of the most successful global campaigns in the last decade, including Project (RED), the launch of the Sustainable Development Goals in collaboration with the United Nations, the creation of the SDG Lions, and the rebranding of the UN Refugee Agency.

Sara E. Echenique is a Puerto Rican lawyer and children’s book author. She grew up in Puerto Rico and is proud to be passing on her heritage to her two young children. In addition to Hispanic Star: Roberto Clemente, she is the author of Our Roof is Blue. She now lives in Florida with her husband, their children, and their Puerto Rican rescue dog, Luna.

Claudia Romo Edelman is the Founder of the We Are All Human Foundation. Claudia has worked for 25 years with internationally recognized institutions including the United Nations, UNICEF, the Global Fund and the World Economic Forum. She has a track record in launching global campaigns, and she’s a master of agenda setting. She has been in the driver’s seat of some of the most successful global campaigns in the last decade including: the launch of the SDG’s, Product (RED), the creation of the SDG Lions and rebranding of the UN Refugee Agency.
Sara E. Echenique is a Puerto Rican lawyer and children’s author living in Florida with her two young children, husband Ondrej, and their Puerto Rican rescue dog, Luna. She grew up with her siblings on the island and is proud to be passing on her Puerto Rican heritage to her children. Her books include Hispanic Star: Roberto Clemente (with Claudia Romo Edeman) and the picture book Our Roof is Blue.

Editorial Reviews

A Junior Library Guild Selection

"A sense of warmth and pride radiates through this telling, and even non-sports fans will be drawn in. . . Well-crafted and accessible." - School Library Journal, starred review

"Highlighted issues of racism [add] context to his times and luster to his achievements." - Kirkus

From the Publisher

★ 09/01/2022

Gr 2–6 The first entry in a series centering celebrated Latinx figures, this biography presents the life of Baseball Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente in an accessible chapter book format. Born in Puerto Rico in 1934, he was drafted the minor leagues after his high school graduation. Clemente often felt like he didn't fit in as a Black player who spoke Spanish. He suffered early on in his career, navigating Jim Crow laws in the South, encountering prejudiced journalists, coaches, and players who made fun of his accent, and dealing with personal tragedies. But he never stopped giving back—he used his earnings to help his family and aid in humanitarian efforts in Latin American countries. Eventually, he became the first Latinx player selected as the most valuable player in the National League. Tragically, Clemente died at 38 in an airplane crash en route to Nicaragua where he was going in an earthquake relief effort. He was inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame only two days after his death and was awarded with the first-ever Presidential Citizens Medal. Each chapter sports two to four of Gutierrez's pencil drawings, adding interest to the narrative and breaking up the text. Quotations open up each chapter, and sidebars offer context through subjects like colorism in Puerto Rico, baseball terms, and historical events. The narrative is arranged thematically instead of chronologically, which might confuse some readers but makes the work more engaging. A sense of warmth and pride radiates through this telling, and even non-sports fans will be drawn in. VERDICT A well-crafted and accessible biography series opener for all young readers' nonfiction shelves.—Shelley M. Diaz

School Library Journal

2022-09-28
A hagiographic account of the rise, career, and legacy of the first Latine player elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Noting that his life was shaped by “many strong women”—like his hardworking mother, Luisa, who could lift entire beef carcasses with her “powerful shoulders and arms”—the authors characterize their subject as a “strong, passionate kid” who succeeded through relentless dedication to achieving his goals, continued to play at a high level despite injuries, and, to the end of his life in a plane crash (delivering relief supplies to Nicaragua in the wake of an earthquake), never lost either his pride or his concern for the welfare of others. His private life and religious faith receive at best cursory notice and his baseball career little more, but along with the Taíno, Spanish, and African cultural milieu in which he grew up, both the colorism he faced (being relatively dark skinned) in his native Puerto Rico and the racial prejudice he encountered there and while playing in the States both from the media and his teammates receive indignant scrutiny. Gutierrez adds realistically modeled portraits of Clemente in various team uniforms on and off the field or posing with his family and friends. The final chapter of posthumous awards and accolades ends with a challenge to readers: “He moved others to help people and make a difference, to not ‘waste their time on this Earth.’ How will you make the most of your time here?”

Straight-up hero worship, with highlighted issues of racism adding context to his times and luster to his achievements. (authors’ afterwords, online source notes) (Biography. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews