Major Taylor: World Cycling Champion
Major Taylor: World Cycling Champion
Hardcover – Picture Book, September 12, 2023
by Charles R. Smith (Author), Leo Espinosa (Illustrator)
A Coretta Scott King Award winner and a Pura Belpré Illustrator Honor winner pair up for a rousing picture book biography-in-verse of legendary African American cyclist Marshall “Major” Taylor and the Six-Day Race.
One hundred years ago, one of the most popular spectator sports was bicycle racing, and the man to beat was Marshall “Major” Taylor, who set records in his teens and won his first world championship by age twenty. The first African American world champion in cycling and the second Black athlete to win a world championship in any sport, Major Taylor faced down challenge after challenge, not least the grueling Six-Day Race, a test of speed, strength, and endurance. With energy, heart, and pounding verse, Charles R. Smith Jr. evokes the excitement of the crowd at Madison Square Garden as Major powered through exhaustion, hallucinations, and racist abuse from fellow riders, who tried to crash his bike throughout the competition. Leo Espinosa’s dynamic illustrations capture the action, and as day six draws to a close, and Major’s odds narrow, there is little doubt that his triumphant rise and legacy as an international cycling champion are assured—whatever the outcome of one race—in this high-octane tribute to a trailblazing athlete.
Publisher: Candlewick (September 12, 2023)
Language: English
Hardcover: 48 pages
ISBN-10: 1536214981
ISBN-13: 978-1536214987
Reading Age: 7 - 10 years
Grade Level: 2 - 5
Item Weight: 1.1 pounds
Dimensions: 8.63 x 0.4 x 11.31 inches
