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Warrior on the Mound - by Sandra W Headen (Hardcover)
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About this item
Highlights
- This intense, evocative story of racial unrest in prewar North Carolina ends with a dramatic match between white and Black little league teams.
- 8-12 Years
- 8.35" x 5.59" Hardcover
- 272 Pages
- Juvenile Fiction, Social Themes
Description
About the Book
In 1939 North Carolina, an all-Black baseball team "trespasses" on the whites-only baseball field, and the resulting racial outrage can only be resolved on the mound.
Book Synopsis
This intense, evocative story of racial unrest in prewar North Carolina ends with a dramatic match between white and Black little league teams.
1935. Twelve-year-old Cato wants nothing more than to play baseball, perfect his pitch, and meet Mr. Satchel Paige--the best pitcher in Negro League baseball. But when he and his teammates "trespass" on their town's whites-only baseball field for a practice, the resulting racial outrage burns like a brushfire through the entire community, threatening Cato, his family, and every one of his friends.
There's only one way this can end without violence: It has to be settled on the mound, between the white team and the Black. Winner takes all.
Written in first person with a rich, convincing voice, Warrior on the Mound is about the experience of segregation; about the tinderbox environment of the prewar South; about having a dream; about injustice, and, finally, about dialogue.
Back matter includes an author's note, historical background, biographical information about Negro League players, and more.
A Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
One of Evanston Public Library's 101 Great Books for Kids
A New York Public Library Best Book of the Year!
An NCSS-CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Book
A BCALA Best of the Best Title
Review Quotes
★ "This engaging novel tackles themes of bullying, racism, segregation, strength, and forgiveness. . . A home run of a book that is brave enough to speak the hard truths. . ."--School Library Journal, Starred Review
★ "An outstanding blend of history, sports, and coming of age: not to be missed."--Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review
"Headen captures the layers of racism embedded in a southern town where the histories of Black and white communities intertwine."--The Horn Book
"Along with creating a protagonist strong enough to exercise good judgment despite provocation, the author assembles a cast rich in people of good will. . ."--Booklist
"The protagonist's first-person POV adds immediacy to this emotionally charged sports novel, making for a winning combination of action-driven plotting and underlying historical tension that will inspire discussion surrounding Jim Crow era and contemporary prejudice."--Publishers Weekly
About the Author
Sandra W. Headen, a former teacher and researcher at Chapel Hill, is a full-time writer. Her historical middle-grade novel, WARRIOR ON THE MOUND, was awarded SCBWI's On-the-Verge/Emerging Voices Award for writers from underrepresented groups; in addition, her short story PAPA'S GIFTS (The Carolina Quarterly, March 2019) was awarded the Jones African-American Literary Award by the North Carolina Writers' Network.