Major Taylor: World Cycling Champion

Espinosa’s bold illustrations pair well with the book’s action-packed story… Readers will be engaged and curious to learn more about a sports figure they’ve likely never heard of. A charming, beautifully illustrated portrait of a world-class athlete who deserves to be even more widely known.—Kirkus ReviewsWriting in a rhythmic patter that sometimes sprints, sometimes properly evokes a sense of stubborn endurance in the face of utter exhaustion, Smith chronicles the course of an incredible six-day indoor race run by legendary cyclist Marshall “Major” Taylor in 1896: … poetic.—BooklistA fascinating true story that is written in such a way that readers will feel they are tearing around the track along with Major. Perfectly complemented with energetic illustrations, ‘Major Taylor: World Cycling Champion’ is inspirational in every way.—The Reading Eagle

Charles R. Smith Jr. is the author of sports poetry titles such as Hoop Kings, Hoop Kings 2: New Royalty, Hoop Queens, and Soccer Queens, as well as Pick-Up Game, Chameleon, and the Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book Twelve Rounds to Glory: The Story of Muhammad Ali. He is also the recipient of a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award for his photographs in My People, an adaptation of the Langston Hughes poem. Charles R. Smith Jr. lives in New York.

Leo Espinosa is an award-winning illustrator and designer from Bogotá, Colombia. He is the illustrator of many books for kids, and his work has been featured by the New Yorker, the New York Times, the BBC, and more. He also illustrated Islandborn by Junot Díaz, a Pura Belpré Illustrator Award Honor Book. Leo Espinosa lives with his family in Salt Lake City, Utah.