Brendan Buckley's Universe and Everything In It
Delacorte Press / Random House, Inc., 2007
Winner of the 2008 Coretta Scott King / John Steptoe New Talent award, given by the American Library Association
An OPRAH'S Book Club Kids Reading List selection
One of Bank Street Bookstore's "40 favorite books from the last 40 years"
Ten-year-old Tae Kwon Do blue belt and budding rock hound Brendan Buckley keeps a CONFIDENTIAL notebook for his top-secret scientific discoveries. And he's found something totally top-secret. The grandpa he's never met, whom his mom refuses to see or even talk about, is an expert mineral collector, and he lives nearby! Brendan sneaks off to visit his grandpa Ed DeBose, whose skin is pink, not brown like Brendan's, his dad's, or his late Grampa Clem's.
Brendan sets out to find the reason behind Ed's absence, but what he discovers can't be explained by science, and now he wishes he'd never found Ed at all…
Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People 2008, a cooperative project of the National Council for the Social Studies and the Children's Book Council
Best Children's Books of the Year 2008 (starred for outstanding merit), by the Bank Street College of Education in New York
“This book deserves a 5/5 rating for its balance of serious topics and humor, complex characters, and realistic ending. It should be on every teacher’s bookshelf.”
Once Upon a Book Blog
“Frazier has created a likable young boy with unique interests and love for his family. Readers will enjoy his adventures and see past generations with new awareness.”
TeensReadToo.com
“This is an absorbing look at a 10-year-old boy who has never had to deal with race and prejudice, who collides into years of anger and hurt in his family and must create a new identity for himself. . . . Frazier writes affectingly about what being biracial means in 21st-century America.”
School Library Journal
“This book portrays real feelings of a real bi-racial kid growing up in today’s society. It’s also just a fun read for kids, especially boys…”
Assembly on Literature for Adolescents (ALAN)
“Brendan is a real kid with a passion for science and also a willingness to push his parents’ rules ”
Booklist
“Brendan is an appealing character with a sense of honor, curiosity and intelligence. A good, accessible selection to inspire discussion of racism and prejudice.”
Kirkus Reviews
“By frequently lightening her tone, Frazier delivers her messages without using an overly heavy hand. Brendan is a real kid with a passion for science and also a willingness to push his parents’ rules; he’s not just a placard for the author’s central message.”
Booklist