A high five for Glenn Burke

Phil Bildner

Book - 2020

After researching Glenn Burke, the first major league baseball player to come out as gay, sixth-grader Silas Wade slowly comes out to his best friend Zoey, then his coach, with unexpected consequences.

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Subjects
Genres
Bildungsromans
Published
New York, NY : Farrar Straus Giroux for Young Readers, an imprint of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC [2020]
Language
English
Main Author
Phil Bildner (author)
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
277 pages ; 22 cm
Audience
10-13.
ISBN
9780374312732
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

When Silas has to do a presentation on a famous inventor for his sixth-grade class, he chooses Glenn Burke, the baseball center fielder credited with inventing the high five. When Glenn Burke arrived in the big leagues in 1976, the Los Angeles Dodgers thought he was going to be the next Willie Mays, Silas explains, but there's one thing he doesn't share with his class, friends, or teammates: Burke was pushed out of baseball because, like Silas, he was gay. Even as he considers coming out, Silas worries about his secret being revealed. As he becomes increasingly nervous, he distances himself from baseball and, worse, tells a lie about his best friend Zoey, which causes her to stop speaking to him. Bildner's (Martina & Chrissie, 2017) latest is a middle-grade book that will have broad appeal. Young readers will relate to Silas and cheer him on as he navigates longstanding relationships that suddenly seem new and awkward. Muted problems at home, seen through Silas' eyes, encourage communication with and trust in parents. The story also speaks to the importance of creating a welcoming community whether on a baseball field or in a classroom that embraces differences with not only tolerance but also complete and unrelenting support. An essential book for all readers, not just baseball fans, about friendship, acceptance, and self-confidence.--Grace Rosean Copyright 2020 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

A gay black baseball player posthumously inspires a sixth grade white boy who is ready-ish to come out.Baseball enthusiast Silas Wade opens the book by giving a colorful class presentation about Glenn Burke. Burke was a once-well-known major league player who invented the high-five and eventually left the sport after enduring isolation and harassment for being gay. Silas leaves that last part out, but heralding his hero in front of a crowd is the silent start of his own coming out. Further testing the waters, he tells his best friend, Zoey (a champion robot builder), he's gay and finds that there's a bouncy kind of freedom that comes from saying who he really is. Inspirational YouTube videos encourage Silas to come out to Coach Webb, an adult who embodies the understanding, guidance, protection, and encouragement that all queer kids should have. But when Silas gets nervous about everything changing and wants to backpedal into the closet, circumstances put him at a crossroads: continue to lie for self-preservation or live out loud like Glenn Burke wasn't able to. Silas is white, but Zoey has a Spanish surname, and his baseball teammates and one coach are black and brown. (One notable moment includes an explanation from the coaches about why monkey insults are racist.) As the narrative foundation is established, there are overt explanations of settings and characters that aren't additive, but these superfluous tendencies dissolve about 50 pages in. Insights into Silas' home life feel bittersweet and real with parents fumbling to do the best they can, but Silas' struggle is the central story. Beleaguered tolerance strikes out; loud, proud love wins the game. (Fiction. 10-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.