Informational Resources

Author Information:

Jewell Parker Rhodes website:

http://jewellparkerrhodes.com/children/

Jewell Parker Rhodes Biography:

http://jewellparkerrhodes.com/children/meet-jewell/

Teens Choice Book Choice interview with Jewell Parker Rhodes (20:23):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbbn1Fkt1-Q

Activities & Resources:

Discussion Guides

A Study of Character:

http://jewellparkerrhodes.com/children/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Copy-of-Black-Brother-Black-Brother-Novel-Study-2.pdf

Black Brother, Black Brother Discussion Guide (Little, Brown, and Company website):

https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Black-Brother-Black-Brother-Downloadable-Book-Club-Guide.pdf

Social Justice

Speak Up at School (1:19):

Print out the pocket guide and watch the video on how to assemble it.

https://youtu.be/1yFUXiqNztI

https://www.tolerance.org/sites/default/files/general/speak_up_pocket_card_2up.pdf

Information about what kids can do about bullying:

https://www.stopbullying.gov/resources/kids

Recognizing discrimination lesson plan:

https://www.tolerance.org/classroom-resources/lessons/recognizing-discrimination

Fencing

10-Year-Old National Fencing Champion Lola Possick “TEARIN’ IT UP” (3:10):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1eW8XiKzs8

Basic Fencing Terminology:

https://www.wikihow.com/Understand-Basic-Fencing-Terminology?amp=1

Olympic Games Fencing Coloring Page:

https://www.coloringsky.com/olympic-games-fencing-coloring-page/

Make an origami saber/sword:

http://www.origami-instructions.com/origami-sword.html

Learn about Boys and Girls Club of America and search for the location nearest to you:

https://www.bgca.org/

MakerSpace Activities:

Do something about racial injustice and equity by joining a campaign:

https://www.dosomething.org/us/causes/racial-justice

Create a short video showing strategies on how to speak up against racial injustice.

Create anti-racism and anti-bullying posters and hang them all over the school.

Create anti-racism and anti-bullying flags and organize your own march:

http://www.ssww.com/blog/coloring-flags-activity-for-bullying-prevention-awareness/

Read a picture book that promotes social justice and create a puppet show for it. Perform your puppet show for younger students.

Discussion Questions:

“I wish I was invisible.” Why do you think the book starts off like this? Describe a time where you wished you were invisible.

“Though sometimes I feel like I am swimming in whiteness.” Why do you think Donte feels this way?

What did Donte do to end up in the headmaster’s office? Do you think he should have gotten in trouble for that? Why or why not?

How does the police officer respond when Trey tells him that Donte is his brother? Why does he respond this way?

What was Donte’s nickname? Describe how he got this nickname.

Describe Alan’s character. Use evidence from the text to support your description.

Compare Donte and Trey. How are they alike? How are they different?

Describe Donte and Trey’s relationship. How do they support each other?

How do Donte’s classmates feel about him? Why?

Do you think Donte and Trey should have gotten into trouble for their behavior at fencing practice? Why or why not?

Describe some ways that Donte and Trey are treated differently.

Fencing is considered to be an elite sport and not very easy to gain access. What are some roadblocks and barriers that prevent people from getting involved in this sport?

Fencing is a sport entrenched in very stringent rules and etiquette. Describe some ways Donte can incorporate these rules into his everyday life.

What was Donte’s initial reason for wanting to learn how to fence? How does his purpose change as he trains with Coach?

Coach ends up being a role model to Donte. Talk about someone that has been a role model to you.

Coach tells Donte that he needs to be “self-smart”. What does that mean? How is it different from being school-smart or street-smart?

As Donte learns how to fence, how does he change?

Describe how Donte’s court appearance was just like a fencing match.

The book ends with the narrator saying “One small step”. What is meant by this?

Book Talk Teasers:

Read the readers theater for Black Brother, Black Brother.

Watch the book trailer for Black Brother, Black Brother.

Read Alikes:

Overcoming Obstacles

Craft, Jerry. Class Act. Eighth grader Drew Ellis recognizes that he isn't afforded the same opportunities, no matter how hard he works, that his privileged classmates at the Riverdale Academy Day School take for granted, and to make matters worse, Drew begins to feel as if his good friend Liam might be one of those privileged kids and is finding it hard not to withdraw, even as their mutual friend Jordan tries to keep their group of friends together. (NoveList Plus)

Reynolds, Jason. Lu. Track star Lu is confident that he can lead Ghost, Patina, Sunny, and the team to victory at the championships, but it turns out to be more difficult than he thought when there are suddenly hurdles in Lu's way. (NoveList Plus)

Racial Tension

Broaddus, Maurice. The Usual Suspects. Thelonius Mitchell is tired of being labeled. He's in special ed, separated from the "normal" kids at school who don't have any "issues." That's enough to make all the teachers and students look at him and his friends with a constant side-eye. (Although his disruptive antics and pranks have given him a rep too.) When a gun is found at a neighborhood hangout, Thelonius and his pals become instant suspects. Thelonius may be guilty of pulling crazy stunts at school, but a criminal? T isn't about to let that label stick. (NoveList Plus)

Draper, Sharon M. Blended. Piano-prodigy Isabella, eleven, whose black father and white mother struggle to share custody, never feels whole, especially as racial tensions affect her school, her parents' both become engaged, and she and her stepbrother are stopped by police. (NoveList Plus)

Ramee, Lisa Moore. A Good Kind of Trouble. Strictly following the rules to pursue her junior-high ambitions, 12-year-old Shayla is forced to choose between her education and her identity when her sister joins the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of a powerful protest. (NoveList Plus)

Reviews:

Black Brother, Black Brother. Rhodes, Jewel Parker. Little Brown. 2020.

Booklist

Black Brother, Black Brother (Starred)

Rhodes, Jewell Parker (author)

Mar. 2020. 240p. Little, Brown, $16.99 (9780316493802). Grades 5-8.

REVIEW. First published March 1, 2020 (Booklist).

A profound treatise about institutional racism for the middle-grade set, Rhodes’ (Ghost Boys, 2018) latest elevates beyond simple moralizing into a penetrating look into the soul of a young person struggling with 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 a must-have for children’s collections. — Shaunterria Owens

Reprinted with Permission of Booklist https://www.booklistonline.com/

School Library Journal (February 1, 2020)

Gr 4-6-Donte is having a difficult time adjusting to life at Middlefield Prep. Going to public school in New York City to now being one of the only black boys at a prep school in Newton, MA, is a dramatic shift. What's worse, all the kids at school keep bullying him and singling him out as different, while his lighter-skinned brother, Trey, passes with ease. After one too many incidents with Alan, the captain of the school fencing team, Donte decides that he has to beat him at his own game. This quest sets Donte and Trey off on a mission to find Mr. Jones, a black former Olympic fencer and Boston Boys and Girls Club employee, who agrees to teach them how to fence. Along the way, Donte makes friends, becomes an excellent fencer, and finds his place in the Boston area. In the first part of the book, Donte's school calls the police after he throws his backpack to the ground, and he is forced to go to juvenile court. Rhodes points out his privilege in being well off, and how the court is willing to treat him differently after seeing his white father and white-passing brother. Donte's story is a good primer for younger readers on microaggressions. Though the first few chapters of the book focus heavily on Donte's mistreatment at school, the story quickly moves into a heavy focus on his fencing journey. The depiction of Donte's confidence growing with each lesson and as he makes friends at the Boys and Girls Club is interesting and exciting. Readers will want to learn more about the sport. VERDICT Give to readers who love Jason Reynolds's "Track" series or Jewell Parker Rhodes's other offerings for young readers.-Kelsey Socha, Ventress Memorial Library, Marshfield, MA © Copyright 2020. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Reprinted with permission from School Library Journal, 2020. http://www.slj.com.