A tale of a strong, spirited young girl who rises beyond her circumstances and inspires others to work toward a brighter future.

Sugar

7

Ten-year-old Sugar lives on the River Road sugar plantation along the banks of the Mississippi. Slavery is over, but laboring in the fields all day doesn’t make her feel very free. Thankfully, Sugar has a knack for finding her own fun, especially when she joins forces with forbidden friend Billy, the white plantation owner’s son.

Sugar has always yearned to learn more about the world, and she sees her chance when Chinese workers are brought in to help harvest the cane. The older River Road folks feel threatened, but Sugar is fascinated. As she befriends young Beau and elder Master Liu, they introduce her to the traditions of their culture, and she, in turn, shares the ways of plantation life. Sugar soon realizes that she must be the one to bridge the cultural gap and bring the community together. Here is a story of unlikely friendships and how they can change our lives forever.

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The book cover for Sugar by Jewell Parker Rhodes, shows a young African American girl in a simple white dress running in a field on a gloomy day, looking back at an orange kite she is flying high

Author Reading of Sugar

Audio recordings of author Jewell Parker Rhodes

First Chapter of Sugar

by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Introducing: Sugar

Enjoy these video introductions to Sugar

a sticker cutout look of a very small wooden house in a barren land

Honors & Accolades
for Sugar

#1 Best-Selling Book of 2016

The Magnolia Awards, Shortlist

Sequoyah Children’s Award, Master List

Louisiana Young Readers’ Choice Award Master List

William Allen White Children’s Book Awards, Master List

Volunteer State Book Award, Nominee

SCASL Children’s Book Award, Nominee

Black-Eyed Susan Master List

Jane Addams Book Award

ALA Notable Children’s Books

The Best Children’s Books of the Year

Audie Award, Finalist

VOYA Top Shelf

Summer Kids’ Indie Next List

Best Middle-Grade Books to Make History Come Alive

Junior Library Guild Selection

Ellen Sandmeyer, Sandmeyer’s Bookstore

“A lively and inspiring tale of overcoming the harshest of circumstances.”

Publishers Weekly

“Sugar’s clipped narration is personable and engaging, strongly evoking the novel’s historical setting and myriad racial tensions, making them accessible and meaningful to beginning readers.”

Booklist, Starred Review

“Rhodes creates a cross-cultural exchange that includes trickster tales, food appreciation, and good old-fashioned friendship. Sugar is an appealing, adventurous heroine full of curiosity and joy, an element sorely needed in light of the important subject.”

Kirkus Review, Starred Review

“A magical story of hope from Coretta Scott King Honor winner Rhodes.”

Rethinking Schools

“This middle school chapter book offers a chance to learn an untold story of Reconstruction that was a precursor to the Great Migration.”