The Undefeated

Author	Kwame Alexander
Illustrator	Kadir Nelson
Country	United States
Language	English
Publisher	Versify/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date	April 2, 2019
Pages	40
Awards	Caldecott Medal, Coretta Scott King Award, Newbery Honor
ISBN	978-1-328-78096-6

The Undefeated is a 2019 poem by Kwame Alexander and illustrated by Kadir Nelson. The poem's purpose is to inspire and encourage black communities, while also delivering a tribute to black Americans of all occupations in past years. The poem describes the toughness black Americans faced during times such as slavery, and segregation in America. Nelson's illustrations also provide a visual for the meaning of the poem. The book was well received and won the 2020 Caldecott Medal and a Newbery Honor.^[1] Kadir Nelson's artwork also earned it a Coretta Scott King Award.^[2]

References

^ León, Concepción de (January 27, 2020). "Graphic Novel Wins Newbery Medal for the First Time". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
^ "2020 Youth Media Award Winners". ALA Magazine. January 27, 2020. Retrieved February 14, 2020.

Awards Preceded byHello Lighthouse Caldecott Medal recipient 2020 Succeeded byWe Are Water Protectors

v t e Caldecott Medal–winning works
1938–1950	Animals of the Bible (1938) Mei Li (1939) Abraham Lincoln (1940) They Were Strong and Good (1941) Make Way for Ducklings (1942) The Little House (1943) Many Moons (1944) Prayer for a Child (1945) The Rooster Crows (1946) The Little Island (1947) White Snow, Bright Snow (1948) The Big Snow (1949) Song of the Swallows (1950)
1951–1975	The Egg Tree (1951) Finders Keepers (1952) The Biggest Bear (1953) Madeline's Rescue (1954) Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper (1955) Frog Went A-Courtin' (1956) A Tree Is Nice (1957) Time of Wonder (1958) Chanticleer and the Fox (1959) Nine Days to Christmas (1960) Baboushka and the Three Kings (1961) Once a Mouse (1962) The Snowy Day (1963) Where the Wild Things Are (1964) May I Bring a Friend? (1965) Always Room for One More (1966) Sam, Bangs & Moonshine (1967) Drummer Hoff (1968) The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship (1969) Sylvester and the Magic Pebble (1970) A Story, a Story (1971) One Fine Day (1972) The Funny Little Woman (1973) Duffy and the Devil (1974) Arrow to the Sun (1975)
1976–2000	Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears (1976) Ashanti to Zulu (1977) Noah's Ark (1978) The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses (1979) Ox-Cart Man (1980) Fables (1981) Jumanji (1982) Shadow (1983) The Glorious Flight (1984) Saint George and the Dragon (1985) The Polar Express (1986) Hey, Al (1987) Owl Moon (1988) Song and Dance Man (1989) Lon Po Po (1990) Black and White (1991) Tuesday (1992) Mirette on the High Wire (1993) Grandfather's Journey (1994) Smoky Night (1995) Officer Buckle and Gloria (1996) Golem (1997) Rapunzel (1998) Snowflake Bentley (1999) Joseph Had a Little Overcoat (2000)
2001–present	So You Want to Be President? (2001) The Three Pigs (2002) My Friend Rabbit (2003) The Man Who Walked Between the Towers (2004) Kitten's First Full Moon (2005) The Hello, Goodbye Window (2006) Flotsam (2007) The Invention of Hugo Cabret (2008) The House in the Night (2009) The Lion & the Mouse (2010) A Sick Day for Amos McGee (2011) A Ball for Daisy (2012) This is Not My Hat (2013) Locomotive (2014) The Adventures of Beekle (2015) Finding Winnie (2016) Radiant Child (2017) Wolf in the Snow (2018) Hello Lighthouse (2019) The Undefeated (2020) We Are Water Protectors (2021) Watercress (2022) Hot Dog (2023) Big (2024)