Mascot

What if a school's mascot is seen as racist, but not by everyone? In this compelling middle-grade novel in verse, two best-selling BIPOC authors tackle this hot-button issue.

In Rye, Virginia, just outside Washington, DC, people work hard, kids go to school, and football is big on Friday nights. An eighth-grade English teacher creates an assignment for her class to debate whether Rye's mascot should stay or change. Now six middle schoolers--all with different backgrounds and beliefs--get involved in the contentious issue that already has the suburb turned upside down with everyone choosing sides and arguments getting ugly.

Told from several perspectives, readers see how each student comes to new understandings about identity, tradition, and what it means to stand up for real change.

Author: Charles Waters, Traci Sorell
Publisher: Charlesbridge Publishing
Published: 09/05/2023
Pages: 256
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1lbs
Size: 8.35h x 5.67w x 1.02d
ISBN: 9781623543808
Audience: Young Adult


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 07/15/2023
Publishers Weekly 07/17/2023
Booklist 07/01/2023 pg. 66

About the Author
Charles Waters is a children's poet, actor, educator, and coauthor of African Town; Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z; and the award-winning Can I Touch Your Hair? Poems of Race, Mistakes and Friendship. He lives near Atlanta. www.charleswaterspoetry.com

Traci Sorell writes fiction and nonfiction for children featuring contemporary characters and compelling biographies. She is an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation and lives in northeastern Oklahoma, where her tribe is located. www.tracisorell.com