FEBRUARY 2023 - AudioFile
Narrator Tyler Merritt shares a painful childhood memory with unmistakable sincerity, speaking directly to the listener. Accompanied by music and sound effects, Merritt recounts visiting his Southern grandparents. His voice cheerfully recalls playing with a new friend throughout the summer. One day, they visit another friend's home to show off their catch of fish. In a powerful moment, the friend's mom declares that the "Black boy" cannot come in. The listener hears the door slam, the dead bolt latch. The painful sound replays as Tyler stands outside--alone, grappling with his first experience of blatant racism. Unsettled, he returns home. His grandparents offer love and reassurance. In turn, Merritt compassionately assures kids that they, too, are perfect just the way they are. L.T. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2023 Audies Winner © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
From the Publisher
"A tender tribute to the power of family in bolstering children making their way in an often unkind world."—Kirkus Reviews
FEBRUARY 2023 - AudioFile
Narrator Tyler Merritt shares a painful childhood memory with unmistakable sincerity, speaking directly to the listener. Accompanied by music and sound effects, Merritt recounts visiting his Southern grandparents. His voice cheerfully recalls playing with a new friend throughout the summer. One day, they visit another friend's home to show off their catch of fish. In a powerful moment, the friend's mom declares that the "Black boy" cannot come in. The listener hears the door slam, the dead bolt latch. The painful sound replays as Tyler stands outside--alone, grappling with his first experience of blatant racism. Unsettled, he returns home. His grandparents offer love and reassurance. In turn, Merritt compassionately assures kids that they, too, are perfect just the way they are. L.T. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2023 Audies Winner © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2022-06-22
Some childhood encounters take a lifetime to get over.
As Tyler, a young Black boy, rides to his grandparents’ house, his folded arms and anxious expression suggest that he does not want to go. A whole summer with his grandparents—who will he play with? But Tyler quickly becomes friends with Jack, a White boy about his age. The boys enjoy fishing in the river together, and Jack teaches Ty how to dig for nightcrawlers. One day, they catch three buckets of fish, and Jack decides to show all his friends. But when the boys knock on a door, a White father refuses to let his child come out—a pattern that repeats several times. Baffled, Tyler finally realizes the reason when one parent says, “You can come in, Jack…but not that little Black boy. He needs to stay outside.” Jack enters, leaving Tyler on the other side of the locked door, which changes everything for Tyler. At home, Tyler’s grandfather offers no easy answers, but he has words of encouragement that make all the difference. In an author’s note, Merritt explains that this story is based on his own childhood experience—which “left a mark on my heart that I would carry for many years.” Ollivierre’s illustrations, with deeply saturated colors, effectively capture Tyler’s sadness and befuddlement as he encounters racism from the White adults but also the joy and love that abound as the family bonds over a backyard fried fish dinner. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A tender tribute to the power of family in bolstering children making their way in an often unkind world. (Picture book. 4-7)
