Battle of Jericho, The
Sharon M. Draper

Author: Draper, Sharon M. (Sharon Mills)

A high school junior and his cousin suffer the ramifications of joining what seems to be a "reputable" school club.

New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, c2003, 304 p.

School Library Journal Review: Gr 7-10–When an elite club, The Warriors of Distinction, invites Jericho and his cousin Josh to pledge, the teens look forward to wearing the black silk jacket, going to great parties, and receiving the admiring glances of the other students at their Ohio high school. Even the girl Jericho has a crush on begins to show an interest in him. The initiation process begins rather tamely with the new pledges helping with the Christmas toy drive, but as it progresses, Jericho becomes increasingly uncomfortable with what they are asked to do and the way they treat Dana, the first-ever female pledge. Adopting the group's "All of us or none of us" creed, the 15 inductees decide to continue. In an intense climax, pledging goes tragically wrong and the repercussions are felt throughout the community. Draper has captured the essence of teens caught up in peer pressure who must ultimately live with the results of their actions. Her characters are deeply human and the strong plot mirrors the difficult choices that young people must make as they try to reconcile their need for acceptance with their inner values. Mostly, though, this title is a compelling read that drives home important lessons about making choices.–Janet Hilbun, formerly at Sam Houston Middle School, Garland, TX (Reviewed June 1, 2003) (School Library Journal, vol 49, issue 6, p137)

Kirkus Reviews The Warriors of Distinction are Douglas High's elite group, a brotherhood separate from school, a service club with a secret initiation resulting in a slick jacket that is the ultimate status symbol for the guys. When cousins Josh and Jericho and their friend Kofi are asked to participate in the Christmas toy drive, they know they are being considered as members. When Kofi's girlfriend Dana sneaks into the midnight initiation, demanding her right to join, everyone knows that this will not be an ordinary pledge group. Draper drops plenty of hints that hazing can be dangerous, even deadly and then supplies a dÉnouement that's unexpected, but somehow inevitable. As pledge week grimly proceeds, issues arise in Jericho's mind and his trumpet-playing serves as an outlet for his confusion, but readers will see with crystal clarity that in secrecy, evil breeds. (Fiction. YA)
(Kirkus Reviews, June 1, 2003)



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1. Awards (Best Fiction) - Children's -> Best Fiction -> Literary -> Coretta Scott King Honor Books -> Authors category -> 2004

2. Awards (Best Fiction) - Young Adult -> Best Fiction -> Literary -> Coretta Scott King Honor Books -> Authors category -> 2004


ISBNs Associated with this Title:
0689842325
0689842333 : Paperback - Mass Market
0606327002 : DEMCO Turtleback - Juvenile
0756939267 : Glued Binding
1417644257 : Glued Binding


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• Added to NoveList: 20040120
• TID: 121935

Copper sun
Sharon Draper

Author: Draper, Sharon M. (Sharon Mills)

Two fifteen-year-old girls--one a slave and the other an indentured servant--escape their Carolina plantation and try to make their way to Fort Moses, Florida, a Spanish colony that gives sanctuary to slaves.

New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, c2006, 302 p.

School Library Journal Review: /* Starred Review */ Gr 8 Up???This action-packed, multifaceted, character-rich story describes the shocking realities of the slave trade and plantation life while portraying the perseverance, resourcefulness, and triumph of the human spirit. Amari is a 15-year-old Ashanti girl who is happily anticipating her marriage to Besa. Then, slavers arrive in her village, slaughter her family, and shatter her world. Shackled, frightened, and despondent, she is led to the Cape Coast where she is branded and forced onto a ???boat of death??? for the infamous Middle Passage to the Carolinas. There, Percival Derby buys her as a gift for his son's 16th birthday. Trust and friendship develop between Amari and Polly, a white indentured servant, and when their mistress gives birth to a black baby, the teens try to cover up Mrs. Derby's transgression. However, Mr. Derby's brutal fury spurs them to escape toward the rumored freedom of Fort Mose, a Spanish colony in Florida. Although the narrative focuses alternately on Amari and Polly, the story is primarily Amari's, and her pain, hope, and determination are acute. Cruel white stereotypes abound except for the plantation's mistress, whose love is colorblind; the doctor who provides the ruse for the girls' escape; and the Irish woman who gives the fugitives a horse and wagon. As readers embrace Amari and Polly, they will better understand the impact of human exploitation and suffering throughout history. In addition, they will gain a deeper knowledge of slavery, indentured servitude, and 18th-century sanctuaries for runaway slaves.???Gerry Larson, Durham School of the Arts, NC --Gerry Larson (Reviewed January 1, 2006) (School Library Journal, vol 52, issue 1, p130)

Publishers Weekly Review: Draper's (Forged by Fire) historical novel takes on an epic sweep as it chronicles the story of 15-year-old Amari, kidnapped from her African village in 1738 and sold into sexual slavery in South Carolina. The horrors of the kidnapping???Amari's parents and little brother are murdered before her eyes???and the Atlantic crossing unwind in exhaustive detail, but the material seems familiar. The story doesn't really take off until Amari reaches her new "home," a rice plantation run by a Snidely Whiplash clone, who presents her to his evil-to-the-core son as a birthday gift. Befriended by the wise cook, a white indentured girl named Polly and the beleaguered mistress of the household, Amari eventually and improbably finds a way to escape. Draper has obviously done her homework, but the narrative wears its research heavily. Every bad thing that befell an African slave either happens to or is witnessed by Amari (e.g., Africans eaten by sharks, children used as live alligator bait, an infant shot dead out of spite). Rape is constant. These lurid elements may appeal to reluctant readers who would normally shy away from historical fiction, but they unfortunately push the story to the brink of melodrama. The author also pulls her punches with a highly implausible happy ending. But after all that Amari has gone through, readers will likely find the conclusion a huge relief. Ages 14-up. (Jan.) --Staff (Reviewed January 9, 2006) (Publishers Weekly, vol 253, issue 2, p55)

Kirkus Reviews Poignant and harrowing, this narrative of early America alternates between the voices of enslaved Amari and indentured servant Polly, building a believable interracial friendship centered on the common goal of freedom. Amari is captured from her idyllic home in Africa, and sold into slavery in the New World. While accounts of the attack on the tribe and the Middle Passage are ephemeral, the story hits its stride upon Amari's arrival in colonial South Carolina. At the slave auction, the reader is introduced to Amari's new masters and Polly, who is a new servant in their household. Polly initially dislikes the African slaves, viewing them as strange competition for limited work, yet grows to sympathize with Amari's plight when she is repeatedly raped by the master's son, Clay. Polly's cynicism and realistic outlook on life provides a welcome contrast to the lost innocence of Amari, whose voice often disappears beneath the misery of her circumstances (save for in one unforgettable passage at the end, where she encounters her betrothed from her village, and mourns the loss of what might have been). Sobering, yet essential. (Historical fiction. YA)
(Kirkus Reviews, January 1, 2006)



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1. Awards (Best Fiction) - Children's -> Best Fiction -> Literary -> Coretta Scott King Award -> Coretta Scott King Award (Authors)

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4. Awards (Best Fiction) - Young Adult -> Best Fiction -> Literary -> Coretta Scott King Award -> Coretta Scott King Award (Authors)

5. Explore Fiction - Young Adult -> Explore Fiction -> Historical Fiction -> Teens from Other Times


ISBNs Associated with this Title:
0689821816
0786289481 : Hardcover - Juvenile
1416953485 : Paperback - Juvenile


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Darkness before dawn
Sharon M. Draper

Author: Draper, Sharon M. (Sharon Mills)

Recovering from the recent suicide of her ex-boyfriend, senior class president Keisha Montgomery finds herself attracted to a dangerous, older man.

New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, c2001, 233 p.

Gr. 8-12. It's been a hard summer for Keisha Montgomery. She is still recovering from the recent suicide of her ex-boyfriend, Andy, though she finds comfort in her tight circle of good friends and supportive family. Then handsome new track coach (and the principal's son) Jonathan Hardaway notices Keisha and sweeps her off her feet with his smooth manner. When a dinner date with Jonathan turns into attempted rape, Keisha successfully fights him off, but the incident leaves her depressed and shaken. This third title in Draper's books about Hazelwood High will draw readers anxious to follow the personable characters from Tears of a Tiger (1994) and Forged by Fire (1997). However, the teen phone conversations, so well handled in those titles, become awkward here when used to relate plot developments, and the frequently didactic tone of the characters is contrived. What's more, so many problem issues are raised--date rape, anorexia, depression, mental illness, suicide, and grief, to name a few--that the focus blurs. Yet the graduation scene, in which class president Keisha gives the closing speech, is moving and triumphant, showing Draper and her vibrant characters at their best.

(Reviewed January 1, 2001) -- Debbie Carton

School Library Journal Review: Gr 9 Up-Keisha''s senior year of high school is quite an ordeal. Her ex-boyfriend has recently committed suicide; a good friend was killed in a car crash; and she is attracted to the new track coach, the principal''s college-aged son. When he begins to make advances, Keisha decides that she is mature enough to date this older man. Jonathan, however, turns out to be more than a smooth talker, and attempts to rape her after a romantic date. Readers may be overwhelmed by the soap-opera feel of this issue-laden world of suicide, anorexia, teen models, divorced or dead parents, homelessness, car accidents, and girl power. There''s even a romance that Keisha doesn''t see coming, but readers will. Although never didactic or preachy, the issues are there to teach a lesson. While slightly unrealistic, the book still may appeal to readers who love page-turners, as Draper has given her characters life by developing relationships and using believable teen-speak.-Angela J. Reynolds, Washington County Cooperative Library Services, Aloha, OR Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews A trip to the mall becomes therapy in this high-school soap opera, third in the Hazelwood High series by Draper (Romiette and Julio, 1999; Forged by Fire, 1997). African-American narrator Keisha, having mourned the suicide of her ex-boyfriend, involves herself with an attractive older man—with near-disastrous results. Jonathan's attention makes Keisha feel mature, so she defies her parents' injunction not to date him and ends up having to defend herself from rape in his apartment—an event so nakedly foreshadowed that there is little tension. Draper presents an appealing circle of friends, but they are so ridiculously virtuous—eschewing sex before marriage, avoiding alcohol (not a whisper about drugs), doing their homework, diligently making college plans, impulsively giving soup to a homeless woman, coaxing an anorexic friend into eating—that they stand more as good role models for teen readers than as realistic characters. Dialogue is frequently stilted ("Especially in winter, blooming flowers bring smiles to folks like me who are sad and confused"), and the use of the ungrammatical "me and . . . " nominative construction, presumably to create voice, is at odds with the high-achieving Keisha's otherwise Standard English. This series appears to be an attempt to carve out a niche of the high-school problem-novel market for African-American teens; it's a pity this offering only complements the banality so often found in this genre. (Fiction. YA)
(Kirkus Reviews, December 1, 2000)



Features about this author or title:

1. BookTalk - Darkness before Dawn


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1. Awards (Best Fiction) - Children's -> Best Fiction -> Literary -> Buckeye Children's Book Award (Ohio) -> Grades 6-8

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3. Teaching with Fiction - African-American Coming of Age Stories


ISBNs Associated with this Title:
0689830807
0786283645 : Paperback - Juvenile
0613538048 : Glued Binding
0689851340 : Paperback - Mass Market
0756912105 : Glued Binding
0606242708 : DEMCO Turtleback - Juvenile
0786274166 : Hardcover - Juvenile


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• Added to NoveList: 20010101
• TID: 076026

Double Dutch
Sharon M. Draper

Author: Draper, Sharon M. (Sharon Mills)

Three eighth-grade friends, preparing for the International Double Dutch Championship jump rope competition in their home town of Cincinnati, Ohio, cope with Randy's missing father, Delia's inability to read, and Yo Yo's encounter with the class bullies.

New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, c2002, 183 p.

School Library Journal Review: Gr 6-9–Delia loves Double Dutch jump roping; she's good enough at it to participate in the world championships being held in her home city of Cincinnati. But Delia has an embarrassing secret that may jeopardize her place on the team: she can't read. She copes in school by relying on her memory, renting videos, doing projects that don't require writing, and behaving well enough not to be noticed. Her friend Randy has a secret, too. His father has been gone for weeks. Has he deserted his son just like Randy's mother deserted them? When the fearsome Tolliver twins, Tabu and Titan, arrive in the eighth grade, the threat of violence puts everyone on edge. The three interwoven stories heat up like the weather, and culminate in a happy, upbeat ending that is a bit too neat: the Tollivers become heroes, Randy's father is found in a hospital, and Delia admits she needs help. Draper tackles tough problems and explores adolescent concerns. While bordering on melodramatic overload and at times preachy, the novel does suggest positive options. What the author does best is create vibrant, engaging characters with unique voices. While these eighth graders may be as tough as their problems, they also are much more complex: sensitive, funny, enthusiastic, and real. Draper adeptly paints a convincing portrayal of how young people think, act, feel, and interact with one another.–Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME (Reviewed June 1, 2002) (School Library Journal, vol 48, issue 6, p137)

Publishers Weekly Review: Secrets, not all of them credible, abound among the eighth-grade protagonists of this disappointing novel. Delia has managed to hide her inability to read from her parents and teachers, but she doubts she can pass the proficiency test that will enable her to graduate to ninth grade and continue competing in Double Dutch jump rope. Randy, whose mother walked out several years ago, hasn't told anyone that his father, a long-distance truck driver, has been missing for weeks. And when twintornadoes hit the school, it becomes apparent that the Tolliver twins, who dress entirely in black and terrorize their classmates, are actually sensitive fellows behind their intimidating façades. Overflowing with rambling conversations and extraneous details, Draper's (Forged by Fire) narrative is often awkward ("The huge gym was filled with crisply ironed T-shirts, frantic practice jumps in the halls and parking lot, and the electric excitement of competition and challenge"). Jump-by-jump descriptions of the Double Dutch championships may rescue this tale for diehard jump-rope fans. Others can skip it. Ages 11-up. (June)
— Staff (Reviewed June 17, 2002) (Publishers Weekly, vol 249, issue 24, p66)

Kirkus Reviews Delia is an intelligent, creative, eighth-grade student with a secret: she cannot read. No one has guessed because she memorizes material learned from discussion, watches videos instead of reading a book, and volunteers to do special projects like skits or posters instead of written reports. But she is faced with taking a major proficiency test that she knows she cannot pass. Her friend Randy also has a secret: he has not heard from his father for several weeks. A long-distance truck driver, who's often away from home, he has always kept in constant touch with Randy. But now Randy is running out of money and food, and he's afraid to tell anyone. Delia and Randy, along with several of their friends, are part of a Double Dutch team that will compete in a national tournament. The details and play-by-play of the Double Dutch practices and contests provide the core around which the rest of the story develops. Several other issues are addressed along the way, and are dealt with nicely by the cast of supporting characters. Delia's friend Yolanda tells fantastic, outlandish stories about herself and her life so earnestly that even her friends are sometimes unable to know when she is telling the truth. The Tolliver twins' threatening demeanor and attitude mask a fear of loss and separation that they manage to overcome heroically during a devastating tornado that hits their school. Even Delia and Randy's more serious problems have happy, though not perfect, conclusions. Perhaps there are too many subplots, too many characters with too many problems, even too many happy endings, but Draper makes it work. Delia and her friends are delightful, and the reader is rooting for them all the way. A fast-paced, multi-layered story. (Fiction. 11-15)
(Kirkus Reviews, June 1, 2002)



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ISBNs Associated with this Title:
0689842309
0613881605 : Glued Binding
1402531273 : Cassette - Audio
0689842317 : Paperback - Juvenile
0606297472 : DEMCO Turtleback - Juvenile
0756929342 : Glued Binding


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• Booklist, published by the American Library Association
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• Copyright 2005, VNU Business Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved
• Added to NoveList: 20020820
• TID: 082069

Forged by fire

Author: Draper, Sharon M. (Sharon Mills)

After surviving a fire, Gerald experiences separation from his mother, the loss of his great aunt, and life with his stepsister's abusive father.

New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, copyright 1997, 151 p.

School Library Journal Review: Gr 7-10--Gerald, a battered and neglected African-American child, is severely burned in a fire at the age of three, having been left home alone by his single mother, Monique. Upon leaving the hospital he goes to live with his warm and caring Aunt Queen. When he is nine, his mother reenters his life for the first time since the accident. Monique introduces him to Angel, his four-year-old half-sister, and Jordan Sparks, Angel's surly father. When Aunt Queen dies suddenly of a heart attack, Gerald is returned to his mother and takes on the role of loving protector of his little sister. He soon learns that Sparks, who mentally and physically abuses all of the family, is sexually abusing Angel. Gerald and Angel's testimony helps send Sparks to prison, but upon his release six years later, he returns to the family, with the blessing of Monique, whose own life is checkered with bouts of substance abuse. A terse confrontation erupts into a fiery climax when Sparks again attempts to molest Angel. The riveting first chapter was originally published as a short story in Ebony magazine under the title "One Small Touch." While the rest of the book does not sustain the mood and pace of the initial chapter, Forged by Fire is a grim look at an inner-city home where abuse and addiction are a way of life and the children are the victims. There's no all's-well ending, but readers will have hope for Gerald and Angel, who have survived a number of gut-wrenching ordeals by relying on their constant love and caring for one another.--Tom S. Hurlburt, La Crosse Public Library, WI

Publishers Weekly Review: This prequel to Draper's Tears of a Tiger is a stark portrayal of a young man struggling to protect his little sister from a drug-addicted mother and an abusive father. Ages 10-up. (Jan.)

Kirkus Reviews An African-American boy grows into a decent man, a loving brother, and a steadfast son despite the cruelties of his childhood in this latest novel by Draper (Tears of a Tiger, 1994, not reviewed, etc.). Although three-year-old Gerald is burned in the fire caused by his drag-addicted mother Monique's recklessness, his life takes a turn for the better: The court sends him to live with his aunt, Queen. Wheelchair-bound and poor, Queen has a loving heart and boundless spirit that nourish and cultivate Gerald for six years, until his mother walks back into his life. When Queen abruptly dies, Gerald moves into Monique's home, where he becomes devoted to his younger half-sister, Angel, and suffers at the hands of his mother's new husband. Jordan is a bully, drunk, and child molester; while Angel and Gerald get him convicted (the police show up as Jordan is about to abuse Angel), he eventually returns to haunt the family after serving his jail term. While Draper's narrative is riveting, it is also rife with simplistic characterizations: Aunt Queen is all-good, Monique is all-stupid, and Jordan is all-evil. In addition, there are enough logical twists in the plot without the seemingly gratuitous death of Gerald's friend, Rob. A touching story, burdened by contrivances.
(Kirkus Reviews, December 1, 1996)



Features about this author or title:

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Other titles associated with this book:
By fire forged


ISBNs Associated with this Title:
068980699X
0786274174 : Hardcover - Juvenile
0613050002 : Glued Binding
0786283580 : Paperback - Juvenile
0606133976 : DEMCO Turtleback - Juvenile
0689818513 : Paperback - Mass Market
0780779134 : Glued Binding
1402508921 : Cassette - Audio


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• Copyright 2005, VNU Business Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved
• Novelist/EBSCO Publishing
• Added to NoveList: 20010101
• TID: 076027

Romiette and Julio

Author: Draper, Sharon M. (Sharon Mills)

An African-American girl and a Latino boy fall in love after meeting on the Internet, but they are harrassed by a gang who objects to their interracial dating.

New York: Atheneum, copyright 1999, 236 p.

School Library Journal Review: Gr 6-10-A contemporary retelling of the Romeo and Juliet story with a happy, upbeat ending. Sixteen-year-old Julio Montague's parents have moved their family to Cincinnati, OH, in order to get their son out of his gang-ridden high school in Corpus Christi, TX. Romiette Cappelle, also 16, is the daughter of successful African-American parents and the granddaughter of college professors. When these two young people, both from proud heritages, begin a romance, they must deal not only with their parents' prejudices but also with the threats of a local gang called The Family. At times, Romiette and Julio effectively parallels and contemporizes the original story. The young couple meet, not at the Capulets' feast, but in an Internet chat room. Julio's friend, Ben Olsen (read Benvolio), who looks like a punk rocker, has an optimistic and irreverent attitude that balances Julio's passion and volatility. At other times, the allusions to the play are obvious and heavy-handed. Nonetheless, this novel is more than simply a carefully plotted teenage romance. Draper gives a realistic portrayal of the interactions among high school students as well as their relationships with their parents. The book also examines how gangs can gain power and take control. All of the characters have unique voices and the writing style shifts according to the action. Romiette and Julio would be a wonderful curriculum tie-in book, but it also stands alone as a first-rate novel about contemporary teens.-Jane Halsall, McHenry Public Library District, IL Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews A tale of forbidden love with intentional references to Shakespeare's play, perhaps especially to its West Side Story incarnation, with a similar focus on issues of race and gangs. Julio Montague, a recent Texas transplant to Cincinnati, quickly falls for "Afroqueen" during cyber-chats on the Internet. He soon discovers his soulmate is African-American Romiette Cappelle, who coincidentally attends his high school. The two are destined to meet and fall in love, despite warnings from the local gang who strongly disapproves of their romance. After the two central players ignore several warnings, gun-wielding gang leaders kidnap them, bind them, and cast them adrift in a boat that is struck by lightning, nearly drowning them (and straining credibility). The parallels to Shakespeare's play are often self-conscious and belabored, drawn at odd moments in the story. Still, a straightforward, uncluttered narrative will hook readers into the well-paced plot and sympathetic characters; loose ends are tied more neatly than a package, prettying up the ending by putting a happily-ever-after spin on the lovers' fates.
(Kirkus Reviews, July 15, 1999)



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1. Book Discussion Guide - If You Come Softly

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4. Explore Fiction - Young Adult -> Explore Fiction -> Romance -> Complicated Hearts

5. Explore Fiction - Young Adult -> Explore Fiction -> Romance -> Contemporary Teen Romance


ISBNs Associated with this Title:
0689821808
0606204156 : DEMCO Turtleback - Juvenile
0756916291 : Glued Binding
0689842090 : Paperback - Mass Market
1416955143 : Paperback - Juvenile
0613337239 : Glued Binding
1416911510 : Paperback - Mass Market


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• Added to NoveList: 20010101
• TID: 076028

Tears of a tiger

Author: Draper, Sharon M. (Sharon Mills)

The death of high school basketball star Rob Washington in an automobile accident affects the lives of his close friend Andy, who was driving the car, and many others in the school.

New York: Atheneum, 1994, 162 p.

School Library Journal Review: Gr 9 Up--A hard-hitting story of the unraveling of a young black man who was the drunk driver in an accident that killed his best friend. Andy cannot bear his guilt or reach out for help, and chapter by chapter his disintegration builds to inevitable suicide. Counselors, coaches, friends, and family all fail him. The story is artfully told through English class assignments, including poetry; dialogues; police and newspaper reports; and letters. From time to time, the author veers off into overt lessons on racial issues, but aside from this flaw the characters' voices are strong, vivid, and ring true. This moving novel will leave a deep impression.--Kathy Fritts, Jesuit High School, Portland, OR

Publishers Weekly Review: Draper's ambitious first novel tackles teenage drinking, suicidal depression and other front-page topics-and relates the action through dialogue or compositions "by" the characters. Exuberant after a high-school basketball victory, athletic stars Andy and Robert down a few beers with friends and then ride around in Andy's car. When Robert is killed in an expressway accident, Andy assumes what turns out to be an unbearable burden of guilt. Short chapters in the form of newspaper articles, diary entries and school writing assignments telegraph the community's reactions and Andy's own feelings; these latter are amplified through Andy's conversations with his coach, with his girlfriend and-poignantly-with the psychologist his concerned parents send him to. This quick-cutting, MTV-like approach allows insights into a number of different viewpoints, ranging from Andy's wrenching internal monologues to the ghastly perkiness of the school's "grief counselor." Casting most of the protagonists as African American, Draper also makes some telling (though not terribly new) points about race and racism. Though the issue-oriented plot can get a bit preachy, the combination of raw energy and intense emotion should stimulate readers. Ages 12-up. (Oct.)



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6. Explore Fiction - Young Adult -> Explore Fiction -> Problem Novels -> Suicide


Other titles associated with this book:
Tiger tears


ISBNs Associated with this Title:
0689318782
0786283610 : Paperback - Juvenile
0689806981 : Paperback - Mass Market
0606099522 : DEMCO Turtleback - Juvenile
0786274182 : Hardcover - Juvenile
0780760107 : Glued Binding
078577677X : Glued Binding


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• Added to NoveList: 20010101
• TID: 078097

Ziggy and the Black Dinosaurs: lost in the tunnel of time
by Sharon M. Draper ; illustrated by Michael Bryant

Author: Draper, Sharon M. (Sharon Mills)

When members of the Black Dinosaur Club go on a field trip to a school which hides tunnels used by the Underground Railroad, they get stuck in a collapsed tunnel

East Orange, N.J.: Just Us Books, 1996, 96 p.

Publishers Weekly Review: An inaugural release in the Ziggy and the Black Dinosaurs series, this tale focuses on four African American boys who make up the Black Dinosaurs Club. On a class field trip to the Ohio River, the friends are captivated by two stories. A raconteur describes his grandfather''s arrival in Cincinnati via the Underground Railroad and also explains that tunnels used in that operation are located under the school the kids attend. And their teacher relates a local legend about a Shawnee woman who helped slaves escape to freedom and whose ghost allegedly haunts the area. When Ziggy and pals attempt to explore the underground tunnels, the walls collapse. The trapped boys are comforted by a breeze they attribute to the ghost''s presence. Draper''s (Tears of a Tiger) well-meaning attempts to combine fiction, folklore and history lead to some significant credibility gaps, among them the unlikely circumstances that middle class African American middle-schoolers have never heard of the Underground Railroad; and that Ziggy''s dog manages to dig through the collapsed tunnel to rescue them. The result is a contrived, disappointingly meager novel. Ages 8-up. (Mar.)



Other Contributors:
Bryant, Michael, 1963-: illustrator

Other titles associated with this book:
Lost in the tunnel of time


ISBNs Associated with this Title:
0940975637


Credits:
• Novelist/EBSCO Publishing
• Baker & Taylor
• MetaMetrics, Inc.
• School Library Journal, A Reed Elsevier Business Information Publication
• Publishers Weekly, A Reed Elsevier Business Information Publication
• Added to NoveList: 20060520
• TID: 144347

Ziggy and the Black Dinosaurs: shadows of Caesar's Creek
Sharon M. Draper

Author: Draper, Sharon M. (Sharon Mills)

After their counselor told them a story about spirits in the woods near their campsite, Ziggy and his friends get lost in that very place.

New York: Aladdin Paperbacks, 2006, 128 p.

Other titles associated with this book:
Shadows of Caesar's Creek


ISBNs Associated with this Title:
068987913X


Credits:
• Novelist/EBSCO Publishing
• Baker & Taylor
• MetaMetrics, Inc.
• Added to NoveList: 20060520
• TID: 144348

Ziggy and the Black Dinosaurs: the buried bones mystery
by Sharon M. Draper ; illustrated by James Ransome

Author: Draper, Sharon M. (Sharon Mills)

When the Black Dinosaurs, a club made up of four African American friends, discover what's hidden in an old trunk buried near their clubhouse, they set out to solve the mystery.

Orange, N.J.: Just Us Books, 1994, 86 p.

School Library Journal Review: Gr 3-4-When their basketball court is vandalized, Ziggy and his three friends form the Black Dinosaurs to solve the mystery. Obviously intended to present positive role models and to create African American pride, the 11 short chapters are packed with black heritage. "Tuskeegee" and "Nigeria" become secret passwords, slave history is revealed by old Mr. Greene (who serves as the red herring), Jerome's grandmother furnishes African musical heritage, and Ziggy provides the Jamaican influence. Unfortunately, such grand designs often degenerate into didacticism resulting in characters who are too good to be true. And Mr. Greene, who is brusque with the boys almost to the point of rudeness at their initial encounter in the library, uncharacteristically becomes their great ally and confidant. And this after they frighten him terribly with a fake police raid! A minor flaw (but one that dinosaur experts will catch)-the apatasaurus is twice illustrated as a Tyrannosaurus rex. However, the plot moves quickly, Ziggy's character provides humor, and the situations will appeal to children. Simple vocabulary and large-print text are appropriate for reluctant readers.-Claudia Cooper, Ft. Stockton Independent School District, TX



Features about this author or title:

1. BookTalk - Ziggy and the Black Dinosaurs: the buried bones mystery


Other related features:

1. Explore Fiction - Children's -> Explore Fiction -> Boys and Girls -> African-American Boys

2. Teaching with Fiction - Mysteries for Grades 3-5


Other Contributors:
Ransome, James: illustrator

Other titles associated with this book:
Buried bones mystery


ISBNs Associated with this Title:
0940975483


Credits:
• Novelist/EBSCO Publishing
• MetaMetrics, Inc.
• Baker & Taylor
• School Library Journal, A Reed Elsevier Business Information Publication
• Added to NoveList: 20060520
• TID: 144346

Ziggy and the Black Dinosaurs: the space mission adventure
by Sharon M. Draper ; illustrated by Jesse Joshua Watson

Author: Draper, Sharon M. (Sharon Mills)

Ziggy and the other members of the Black Dinosaurs go to space camp where they learn about the space program and speculate about the existence of extraterrestrial beings.

New York: Aladdin, 2006, 128 p.