Black Brother, Black Brother

Contributors

By Jewell Parker Rhodes

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$16.99

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$22.99 CAD

This item is a preorder. Your payment method will be charged immediately, and the product is expected to ship on or around March 3, 2020. This date is subject to change due to shipping delays beyond our control.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection!

From award-winning and bestselling author, Jewell Parker Rhodes comes a powerful coming-of-age story about two brothers, one who presents as white, the other as black, and the complex ways in which they are forced to navigate the world, all while training for a fencing competition.
 
Framed. Bullied. Disliked. But I know I can still be the best.

Sometimes, 12-year-old Donte wishes he were invisible. As one of the few black boys at Middlefield Prep, most of the students don't look like him. They don't like him either. Dubbing him "Black Brother," Donte's teachers and classmates make it clear they wish he were more like his lighter-skinned brother, Trey.

When he's bullied and framed by the captain of the fencing team, "King" Alan, he's suspended from school and arrested.

Terrified, searching for a place where he belongs, Donte joins a local youth center and meets former Olympic fencer Arden Jones. With Arden's help, he begins training as a competitive fencer, setting his sights on taking down the fencing team captain, no matter what.

As Donte hones his fencing skills and grows closer to achieving his goal, he learns the fight for justice is far from over. Now Donte must confront his bullies, racism, and the corrupt systems of power that led to his arrest.

Powerful and emotionally gripping, Black Brother, Black Brother is a careful examination of the school-to-prison pipeline and follows one boy's fight against racism and his empowering path to finding his voice.

Genre:

  • Praise for Black Brother, Black Brother
  • *"A powerful work and must-have for children's collections."
    Booklist, starred review
  • "Placing biracial boyhood and the struggles of colorism at its center, the novel challenges readers to pursue their own self-definition."
    Kirkus
  • *"An excellent selection for both elementary and middle library collections, this is a title that celebrates finding one's place in the world."
    School Library Connection, starred review
  • "Donte's story is a good primer for younger readers on microaggressions."
    School Library Journal
  • "A classic sports story."
    BCCB
  • "This novel offers a solid story, with relatable, three-dimensional characters considering identity, that will teach readers about colorism's effects."
    Publishers Weekly

On Sale
Mar 3, 2020
Page Count
256 pages
ISBN-13
9780316493802

Jewell Parker Rhodes

About the Author

Dr. Jewell Parker Rhodes is the New York Times bestselling author of several books for youth, including Ghost Boys; Black Brother, Black Brother; Paradise on Fire; and Treasure Island: Runaway Gold. She is the recipient of many distinguished awards and honors, including the Coretta Scott King Author Honor, the Green Earth Book Award, an NAACP Image Award nomination, the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award, and the Octavia E. Butler Award. Rhodes is the Founding Artistic Director of the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing and Virginia G. Piper Endowed Chair at Arizona State University. She invites you to connect with her at jewellparkerrhodes.com.
 
Kelly McWilliams is the mixed-race writer of the young adult books Agnes at the End of the World, Mirror Girls, and Your Plantation Prom Is Not Okay. She’s written for Time, Publishers Weekly, and Bustle among other outlets. Mirror Girls, about biracial twin sisters growing up under Jim Crow, was a Target Book Club Pick and Barnes & Noble monthly pick, and her debut novel was a finalist for the Golden Kite award. She lives in Seattle with her family. Find her at KellyMcWilliamsAuthor.com. 

Briana Mukodiri Uchendu is an illustrator, a visual development artist, and a first-generation Nigerian American. Her work is inspired by her interests in folklore, film, and animation and her passion to highlight voices that usually go unheard. Briana is a graduate of Ringling College of Art and Design, where she majored in illustration. She is the illustrator of The Talk, A Coretta Scott King author honor book. She currently lives in her hometown of Houston, Texas. You can connect with her at mukoart.com

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