book data
32 ratings, 3.78 average rating, 17 reviews
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published
October 9th 2007
by Delacorte Books for Young Readers
binding
Hardcover, 208 pages
literary awards
Steptoe New Talent Author Award
isbn
0385734395
(isbn13: 9780385734394)
description
TEN-YEAR-OLD TAE KWON DO blue belt and budding rock hound Brendan Buckley keeps a "Confidential" notebook for his top-secret scientific disc...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 46)
This is an upper-elementary/middle school novel. I found it on the Coretta Scott King award page. It's about a ten year old boy who's really into geology and asking lots of questions. He comes from a biracial family. He discovers a grandfather from whom he has been estranged for his entire life. Really great message!
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Read in April, 2008
recommended to Julie by:
Julia
Brendan is endlessly curious, and he has taken to writing queries (and hopefully their answers) in his Book of Big Questions. However, one thing that he knows not to ask about is his mother’s father, and why he is absent from their lives; one thing that hasn’t occurred to him as a question is how he, the son of a black father and white mother, is seen. During the summer he will turn eleven, a chance encounter with his missing grandfather sends him searching for more answers than will fit i...more
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Read in August, 2008
This was much more moving and involving than I thought it would be. 10-year-old Brendan's mom is white and his dad is black - while he has gotten to know the black side of his family, his mother has always remained silent about his white grandparents. Brendan, a budding scientist and rock hound, meets his white grandpa, Ed DeBose, by accident at the mall during an exhibition of rocks and minerals (Ed is president of a local club devoted to rock hounds and collectors), and from then on he seeks...more
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Reviewed by Dianna Geers for TeensReadToo.com
Brendan Buckley is into Tae Kwon Do and studying rocks. He would love to be a scientist and faithfully keeps a notebook with important questions and findings. During the summer, Brendan plans on becoming a rock collector. And he is trying to adjust to losing his best fishing buddy, Grandpa Clem.
When looking at a mineral and gemstone exhibit, he meets a man who has awesome rocks and who knows a TON about rocks and minerals. His Grandma Gladys ...more
Brendan Buckley is into Tae Kwon Do and studying rocks. He would love to be a scientist and faithfully keeps a notebook with important questions and findings. During the summer, Brendan plans on becoming a rock collector. And he is trying to adjust to losing his best fishing buddy, Grandpa Clem.
When looking at a mineral and gemstone exhibit, he meets a man who has awesome rocks and who knows a TON about rocks and minerals. His Grandma Gladys ...more
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Read in July, 2008
Brendan, according to his gram is "chocolate milk"---chocolate from his dad and milk from his mom. He's a good kid with a good stable family. One day when he's walking around the mall with his gram he sees this old man at a table full of rocks. He strikes up a conversation but when his gram happens up on them she goes bezerk. Turns out the old man is his grandfather, his mom's father, who he's never met. His other grandpa recently passed away and so Bren is determined to learn mor...more
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Read in March, 2008
Brendan is a great, almost eleven year old boy! He is curious about rocks, life, and like the title says, everything in it. He is missing his recently passed Grandpa Clem this summer, trying to fill his time with Tae Kwan Do and friend Khalfani. At the mall with Grandma Gladys, Brendan stumbles onto a rock show and a family mystery. The nice man that tells him about calcite is his other, unknown grandpa, Ed. As the summer moves on, Brendan learns about race, family divisions and forgiveness...more
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Read in November, 2008
Ten year old bi-racial Brendan has never met his white grandfather and his mother refuses to talk about the man. By chance, Brendan meets him in the mall one day at a rock and mineral show and discovers that he is a scientist (just like Brendan!). He begins a secret relationship with his grandfather, determined to discover why they've never previously met.
A sensitive story about race and family. Believable characters and situations.
A sensitive story about race and family. Believable characters and situations.
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Sundee crafted this story solidly and it's a fairly straight A - B story with the sharp information and emotion in kind places. Brendan is a character I want to just cheer and hug because he is just an honorable little dude. She did a lovely job of using minerals as metaphors for mixed race identities and the way Brendan navigates that is awesome. I hope she writes a sequel because this was a sweet foundation.
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sweet story of mixed-race, nearly eleven-year-old Brendan boy who loves science and keeps a notebook of questions and answers, studies tae kwon do, loves rocks,and wants to find out more about his grandfather (who he accidentially meets at a rock exhibit) and why his mother and grandfather haven't spoken his whole life. His mother says he is a very bad man, but that is not what Brendan sees. An enjoyable read.
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Read in January, 2008
Great novel about biracial identity and what makes a family. The dialogue and fully developed characters help make this book rise to the top, along with Brendan's very scientific, analytical mind. (I could almost always buy into the notion that Brendan would take the time to talk about all the different kinds of rocks he's learning about, and his other ponderings!)
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Read in January, 2008
A cute story about Brendan, an almost-eleven-year-old budding scientist (and Tae Quon Do warrior) who explores some big questions, particularly about race, identity and family. He engagingly shares the perspective of being "from both black and white people." He also learns a great deal about geology! Good for 9-12 year-olds.
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Read in February, 2008
Brendan's character was well-drawn, and I liked that he was inquisitive and interested in things. He was a very convincing 10-year old. It probably goes without saying that biracial kids will appreciate reading about a character like them, but I also think it does a fine job of introducing the topic to kids who are not.
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Read in April, 2008
Picked this book up for my 9 year old nephew - it's written by a friend of mine - and started skimming, then couldn't put it down. Insightful and straightforward and touching glimpse into the life of a bi-racial 10-year-old boy. Great way to start a conversation with children - can't wait to share it with G & X.
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Read in May, 2008
At the beginning of summer vacation, Brendan Buckley, a multiracial ten-year old, discovers the grandfather he's never met. Ed DeBose is not only white, but bigoted. In his quest for truth, Brendan discovers not just who he comes from, but who he is, too.
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Read in February, 2008
john steptoe award 08. sweet story of mixed-race boy who loves rocks, studies tae kwon do, and wants to understand why his mother and grandfather haven't spoken his whole life. kid-friendly and enjoyable.
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The agenda (life of a multiracial child) overshadows the story.
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