Top 10 Kids' Indie Next Pick
A must-have for children's collections

Black Brother, Black Brother

7

From award-winning and bestselling author, Jewell Parker Rhodes, comes a powerful coming-of-age story about two brothers, one who presensts as white, the other as black, and the complex ways in which they are forced to naviagte the world, all while training for a fencing competition.
Donte wishes he were invisible. As one of the few black boys at Middlefield Prep, he feels as if he is constantly swimming in a sea of whiteness. Most of the students don’t look like him. They don’t like him either. Dubbed the “Black Brother,” Donte’s teachers and classmates make it clear they wish he were more like his lighter skinned brother, Trey. Quiet, obedient.

When an incident with “King” Alan leads to Donte’s arrest and suspension, he knows the only way to get even is to beat the king of the school at his own game: fencing. With the help of a former Olympic fencer, Donte embarks on a journey to carve out a spot on Middlefield Prep’s fencing team and maybe learn something about himself along the way.

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 find his voice.

Black Brother, Black Brother cover, featuring the book title and author of Jewell Parker Rhodes, with two young teenage boys standing back to back. One has dark skin and one has light skin.
a sticker cutout of the two brothers, one with dark skin and one with light skin, from the book Black Brother, Black Brother.

Honors & Accolades
for Black Brother, Black Brother

Kentucky Bluegrass Award Winner, Grades 6-8

Master List, Rebecca Caudill Young Readers’ Book Award

Pennsylvania Young Readers Choice Award Finalist

Maryland Black-eyed Susan Book Award Nominee

Grades 6-8 Master list Nominee

Lewisham Book Awards (UK)

Magnolia Book Award Nominee

Sunshine State Young Readers Award

Kentucky Bluegrass Award Nominee

Nominee, Outstanding Literary Work – Youth/Teens

The Best Children’s Books of the Year

Cybils nominee: Middle-Grade Fiction

Nebraska Golden Sower Award Finalist

Best Children’s Books 2020

Editor’s Pick: 2020 Best Middle Grade Books

2020, Book Riot

Top 10 Kids’ Indie Next Pick

Amazon’s Best Children’s Books of 2020 So Far

Amazon’s Best Children’s Books of 2020: Ages 9-12

“Best of the Best” Books

Top 20 Books of 2020

School Library Connection, Starred Review

“An excellent selection for both elementary and middle library collections, this is a title that celebrates finding one’s place in the world.”

Kirkus

“Rhodes delivers another middle-grade novel that takes on complex, historical topics while emphasizing young people’s agency and healing. These lessons in self-discovery offer a deeply critical insight for young readers. Placing biracial boyhood and the struggles of colorism at its center, the novel challenges readers to pursue their own self-definition.”

Booklist, Starred Review

“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.”

Publisher's Weekly

“This novel offers a solid story, with relatable, three-dimensional characters considering identity, that will teach readers about colorism’s effects.”

School Library Journal

“Donte’s story is a good primer for younger readers on microaggressions. The depiction of Donte’s confidence growing with each lesson as he makes friends at the Boys and Girls Club is interesting and exciting. Give to readers who love Jason Reynolds’s “Track” series or Jewell Parker Rhodes’s other offerings for young readers.”

Maria, age 43, Educator at International School of Brooklyn

“Fast-paced and full of raw emotions: this book makes you think!”

Alaina, age 11

“A meaningful story. And the lesson in the book is to be kind to all no matter the color or race.”