Cover of We Are the Ship

We Are the Ship

by Kadir Nelson

We Are the Ship by Kadir Nelson is assigned in US schools at grades 4–8. It appears across 1 curriculum reference, sourced from state DOE pages and AP/IB/Common Core syllabi. Every citation below links to the primary source.

This page shows where We Are the Ship is assigned in US schools — curricula, states, grades, and the primary-source citations behind each placement. Not a summary or study guide.

Grade range
Grades 4–8
Pages
100
Reading time
about 1h 50m (est.)
First published
2008
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About this book

“We are the ship; all else the sea.”—Rube Foster, founder of the Negro National League The story of Negro League baseball is the story of gifted athletes and determined owners; of racial discrimination and international sportsmanship; of fortunes won and lost; of triumphs and defeats on and off the field. It is a perfect mirror for the social and political history of black America in the first half of the twentieth century. But most of all, the story of the Negro Leagues is about hundreds of unsung heroes who overcame segregation, hatred, terrible conditions, and low pay to do the one thing they loved more than anything else in the world: play ball. Using an “Everyman” player as his narrator, Kadir Nelson tells the story of Negro League baseball from its beginnings in the 1920s through its

Where this book is assigned

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Common questions

What grade level is We Are the Ship?
We Are the Ship is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 4–8. Specific grade placement varies by curriculum — AP Literature and IB English Literature typically use it in grades 11-12.
How long does it take to read We Are the Ship?
It takes about 1h 50m to read We Are the Ship (100 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 110 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
What curricula assign We Are the Ship?
We Are the Ship appears on reading lists for Coretta Scott King Author Award. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
Is We Are the Ship banned in schools?
We Are the Ship does not appear in PEN America's Index of School Book Bans 2022-2024. No documented multi-district removals on record, but individual districts may challenge titles locally.

Why this book is on this list

Each dimension below is sourced from a public reference. The full framework is documented on the classification standard page.

Lexile measure
Not classified — this book has no published Lexile measure.
Grade band
Grades 4–8 — drawn from state ELA frameworks and AP/IB syllabi citing this book.
Curriculum alignment
Cited in 1 curriculum on this site (see “Where assigned” above for primary-source links).
State-level evidence
Not yet documented in a state-level framework on this site.
Removal / banning records
No tracked removal or challenge records in cited sources.
Seasonal / contextual tags
Tagged for: award-winner.