Black Brother, Black Brother by Jewell Parker Rhodes Available Today! - 3/3/2020

[Daylian]

Black Brother, Black Brother by Jewell Parker Rhodes Award-winning and bestselling author, Jewell Parker Rhodes writes 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 (published March 3, 2020 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers).

Booklist Starred Review ★ “A profound treatise about institutional racism for the middle-grade set, Rhodes’ latest elevates beyond simple moralizing into a penetrating look into the soul of a young person struggling to learn how to become a Black man of character in a world that expects him to be less. Dropping the reader directly into a tony prep-school office where Donte anxiously awaits judgement for an offense he did not commit, Rhodes dials readers immediately into the boy’s acute dread as he cycles through feelings of shame, anger, and confusion, ultimately leading to a nonconfrontation that causes him to be arrested. As we learn more about Donte and his biracial family, including his lighter-skinned brother, we come to root for him and his pursuit of redemption as he seeks to prove his self-worth to his bullies and his school community through fencing. His coach, one of the first Black Olympic fencers, helps him refine his talent and his ability to deal with the inequities he experiences on a regular basis. An entertaining story and happy ending does not take away from this powerful examination of how the educational and justice systems punitively treat children of color—and how this bias impacts their self-perception and esteem. A powerful work and must-have for children’s collections.” —Booklist: March 1, 2020

Jewell Parker Rhodes currently serves as the Piper Endowed Chair and founding artistic director of the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing at Arizona State University. Her novel, Ghost Boys, quickly became a New York Times Best Seller and has garnered over 25 awards and honors, including The Walter Award, the Indies Choice/EB White Read-Aloud Award, and the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award for Older Readers. Jewell is also the author of Towers Falling, winner of the 2017 Notable Books for a Global Society, and the celebrated Louisiana Girls’ Trilogy: Ninth Ward, a winner of a Coretta Scott King Honor Award; Sugar, a Junior Library Guild selection, and Bayou Magic, a We Need Diverse Books Educational Selection. Jewell has written numerous children’s and adult books hoping to inspire social justice, equality, and environmental stewardship. She enjoys teaching, walking her Toy Aussie Sheepdogs, theater, dancing, and music. Born in Pittsburgh, she now lives in Seattle, Washington.