Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty

Coretta Scott King Author Award Honor, American Library Association (ALA)
Best Books, Kirkus Reviews
Top Ten Great Graphic Novels for Teens, American Library Association (ALA)
Editor's Choice, Booklist
Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, American Library Association (ALA)
Notable Books for a Global Society, International Literacy Association (ILA)
100 Magnificent Children's Books, Fuse #8 Production, SLJ
Best Books of the Year, Publishers Weekly
Choices, Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
Cybils Award Winner - Graphic Novel Category, The Cybils
Glyph Award Nominee, The East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention (ECBACC)
Eisner Award Nomination, Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards
Once Upon a World Children's Book Award, The Simon Wiesenthal Center and Museum of Tolerance Library and Archives
Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults, American Library Association (ALA)
Storytelling World Award, Storytelling World
Street Literature Book Award, Emerging Classic Winner, Street Literature Book Award Medal Committee
Ten Best Nexus Graphica Books, The SF Site
Top 10 List, Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Readers, American Library Association (ALA)
Top Ten Great Graphic Novels, Booklist

A graphic novel based on the life and death of Robert "Yummy" Sandifer, an eleven-year-old gang member from Chicago's Southside who was killed by his own gang members.

Eleven-year-old Roger is trying to make sense of his classmate Robert "Yummy" Sandifer's death, but first he has to make sense of Yummy's life. Yummy could be as tough as a pit bull sometimes. Other times he was as sweet as the sugary treats he loved to eat. Was Yummy some sort of monster, or just another kid?

As Roger searches for the truth, he finds more and more questions. How did Yummy end up in so much trouble? Did he really kill someone? And why do all the answers seem to lead back to a gang-the same gang Roger's older brother belongs to?

Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty is a compelling dramatization based on events that occurred in Chicago in 1994. This gritty exploration of youth gang life will force readers to question their own understandings of good and bad, right and wrong.

Author: G. Neri
Publisher: Lee & Low Books
Published: 08/01/2010
Pages: 96
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.45lbs
Size: 8.80h x 6.40w x 0.30d
ISBN: 9781584302674
Audience: Ages 9-12

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 3.4
Point Value: 1
Interest Level: Upper Grade
Quiz #/Name: 139540 / Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty


Award: Coretta Scott King Award - Honor Book
Award: Cybils - Winner
Award: Rhode Island Teen Book Award - Nominee
Award: Virginia Readers Choice Award - Nominee
Award: Eliot Rosewater Indiana High School Book Award - Nominee
Award: Louisiana Teen Readers' Choice - Nominee
Award: Street Literature Book Award Medal (Slbam) - Winner


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 07/19/2010
Kirkus Reviews 07/15/2010
Booklist 08/01/2010 pg. 55
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 09/01/2010 - Book Of Special Distinction
School Library Journal 09/01/2010 pg. 180
Voice of Youth Advocates 10/01/2010 - Recommended - Hard To Beat
Horn Book Magazine 11/01/2010 pg. 98
Library Journal 11/15/2010 pg. 56
Booklist Ed Choice Youth 01/01/2011 pg. 13
Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2011 pg. 107
Publishers Weekly Best Books 11/08/2010 pg. 28

About the Author

G. Neri is the Eisner-nominated, Coretta Scott King Honor-winning author of Yummy: the Last Days of a Southside Shorty , which Flavorwire hailed as one of the top 25 essential graphic novels of all time. He has written ten books for young people, including the Lee Bennett Hopkins Promising Poet Award-winner, Chess Rumble, and his books have been translated into multiple languages in more than 25 countries. Mr. Neri lives on the Gulf coast of Florida with his wife and daughter. For more information, visit his website at www.gneri.com.

Randy DuBurke is a full-time artist, whose work has appeared in books for young readers, DC and Marvel comics, The New York Times, and MAD magazine. A native of Brooklyn, New York, DuBurke now lives in Switzerland with his wife and their two sons. His website is randyduburke.com.