Charles R. Smith Jr.’s 2025 picture book Black Diamond Kings is a multi-faceted pleasure.
For a lifelong baseball fan like myself, the book was a pleasure because it celebrated some of the heroes of Negro League baseball. The celebration started, of course, with Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson, but it followed two-page spreads on other giants of this era, like Buck Leonard and Cool Papa Bell.
Smith doesn’t just retell their stories, though that would be worthy in itself. He writes a poem for each one, shifting styles and tone to match their character, play, and sound. So for John Henry “Pop” Lloyd, Smith used anaphora, starting each line with his nickname: Pop! The great shortstop Willie Wells gets a sonnet that riffs on Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18, starting with “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” The poems are a pleasure in themselves, and their variety provides a gentle and appeal way to introduce kids to the poetry.
And then there are Adrian Brandon’s illustrations, which mythologize these players who were already heroic. Some focus on these men’s faces, some on the graceful movement.
The book closes with four pages of player statistics and a two-page question and answer on the Negro Leagues.
