The Planet of Junior Brown

by Virginia Hamilton

Overview

Junior Brown is a musical prodigy losing touch with reality and everyone around him—except for one important friend.

Junior Brown is different than the other kids in his eighth-grade class. For one, he weighs three hundred pounds. He’s also a talented musician with a serious future as a professional pianist—if he survives middle school.

With an overbearing mom, disappointed teachers, and fellow students who tease him mercilessly, Junior starts to slip away into his own mind. His last hope may be his only friend, Buddy Clark, a boy in his class without a home or family who has already learned some of life’s toughest lessons.

Together, they find refuge and a creative outlet with the sympathetic janitor Mr. Pool, but when their secret cellar room is discovered, will the boys make it through the fallout?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781416914105
Publisher:	Aladdin
Publication date:	05/01/2006
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	673,358
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x 0.60(d)
Lexile:	730L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

The recipient of nearly every major award and honor in her field, including the 1992 Hans Christian Andersen Award, Virginia Hamilton (1934–2002) was the first African American woman to be awarded the Newbery Medal, for M.C. Higgins, the Great. Renowned as a storyteller, anthologist, and lecturer as well as a novelist, Ms. Hamilton made her home in Yellow Springs, Ohio.

Date of Birth:

March 12, 1936

Date of Death:

February 19, 2002

Place of Birth:

Yellow Springs, Ohio

Place of Death:

Yellow Springs, Ohio

Education:

Attended Antioch College, Ohio State University, and the New School for Social Research

Website:

http://www.virginiahamilton.com/

Editorial Reviews

Virginia Hamilton is a masterful storyteller, who brings the reader into the mind, heart and spirit of her characters. This reading by Peter Francis James splendidly transforms her work into audio. James creates accents, speech patterns and personal quirks for each character. Junior Brown is a three-hundred-pound, pampered genius; his only friend, Buddy Clark, lives by his wits on the streets. As Junior’s grip on reality loosens, Buddy’s resourcefulness faces its greatest challenge. This amazing story will appeal to listeners of all ages. S.G.B. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine

JAN 95 - AudioFile