Isaacson supported the inclusion of The Undefeated written by Kwame Alexander and illustrated by Kadir Nelson (Versify, 2019) on the list. The book, which won the 2020 Caldecott medal, is, according to Isaacson, “a love letter to Black America. Alexander’s sparse, lyrical, emotion-packed words are both celebratory and haunting. Nelson’s oil-on-panel paintings expand on Alexander’s poem with realistic-yet-larger-than-life figures, whose penetrating, viewer-facing gazes welcome readers and compel them to bear witness.”
Faculty Spotlight
Simmons Professor Weighs in on Best Picturebooks
