One day when Nelson Mandela was nine years old, his father died and he was sent from his village to a school far away from home, to another part of South Africa. In Johannesburg, the country's capital, Mandela saw fellow Africans who were poor and powerless. He decided then that he would work to protect them. When the government began to keep people apart based on the color of their skin, Mandela spoke out against the law and vowed to fight hard in order to make his country a place that belonged to all South Africans. Kadir Nelson tells the story of Mandela, a global icon, in poignant verse and glorious illustrations. It is the story of a young boy's determination to change South Africa and of the struggles of a man who eventually became the president of his country by believing in equality for people of all colors. Readers will be inspired by Mandela's triumph and his lifelong quest to create a more just world.

About the Author
Kadir Nelson won the 2012 Coretta Scott King Author Award and Illustrator Honor for Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans. He received Caldecott Honors for Henry's Freedom Box by Ellen Levine and Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom by Carole Boston Weatherford, for which he also garnered a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award and won an NAACP Image Award. Ellington Was Not a Street by Ntozake Shange won a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award. Nelson's authorial debut, We Are the Ship, was a New York Times bestseller, a Coretta Scott King Author Award winner, and a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor book. He is also the author and illustrator of the acclaimed Baby Bear.

Reviews
"A beautifully designed book that will resonate with children and the adults who wisely share it with them." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "An extremely powerful picture-book biography of South Africa's first black president. It's a solid biography in its own right, but thanks to Nelson's characteristically stunning paintings, it soars." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) "A dramatic encounter indeed." -- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books "This picture-book biography matches Mandela's outsize achievements with large, powerful images, resulting in a presentation that will seize and hold readers' attention." -- School Library Journal


Awards
Commended for Capitol Choices: Noteworthy Books for Children and Teens (Seven to Ten) 2014.



Book Information
ISBN 9780061783746
Author Kadir Nelson
Format Hardback
Page Count 40
Imprint Katherine Tegen Books
Publisher HarperCollins Publishers Inc
Weight(grams) 472g
Dimensions(mm) 218mm * 311mm * 9mm