The Grover School Pledge
Description
A true-to-life story about the pains and triumphs of growing up, perfect for readers of Renée Watson and Lisa Moore Ramée
Arlaina Jefferson is eager to prove herself. Tasked with caring for her cousin's rabbit, Obeena, Arlaina knows all that stands between her and the grown-up world of middle school is one year of staying out of trouble and making sure to clean up Obeena's turds. It would be easy?if growing up didn't also mean growing wiser.
Having faced thoughtless comments from fellow students, Arlaina is already struggling to explain the hurt she feels to her best friend, Tina. But when their teacher, Mr. Matthews, asks an ignorant question about classmate Nadia's headscarf, Arlaina has the confirmation she needs: Mr. Matthews is part of a larger problem that plagues Grover School. All those comments that Arlaina?and several other students?once brushed off suddenly seethe under the light of truth. Some things just can't be fixed by Obeena's warm and fuzzy charms.
Bolstered by her father's childhood experience in the Million Man March, Arlaina teams up with no-nonsense Nadia and a host of other Grover School students to right a systemic wrong. After all, proving you're grown up doesn't always mean staying out of trouble!
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Person
WANDA TAYLOR is the author of fiction and non-fiction books for children and adults. She is also a screenwriter, a journalist and a college professor. Her articles have appeared in numerous publications including Quill & Quire and the Globe and Mail. Taylor’s middle grade non-fiction book Birchtown and the Black Loyalists was listed as one of the top Black history books for young readers by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre. Her recent novel The Grover School Pledge won the Northern Lights Middle Grade Book of the Year Award in 2023.