Who will be brave enough to make friends with the boy named Queen? Sara Cassidy’s acclaimed novel, A Boy Named Queen, is now available in paperback!
Evelyn is both aghast and fascinated when a new boy comes to grade five and tells everyone his name is Queen. Queen wears shiny gym shorts and wants to organize a chess/environment club. His father plays weird loud music and has tattoos.
How will the class react? How will Evelyn?
Evelyn is an only child with a strict routine and an even stricter mother. And yet in her quiet way she notices things. She notices the way bullies don’t seem to faze Queen. The way he seems to live by his own rules. When it turns out that they take the same route home from school, Evelyn and Queen become friends, even if she finds Queen irritating at times. Why doesn’t he just shut up and stop attracting so much attention to himself.
Yet Queen is the most interesting person she has ever met. So when she receives a last-minute invitation to his birthday party, she knows she must somehow persuade her mother to let her go, even if Queen’s world upends everything her mother considers appropriate.
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.3
Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character's thoughts, words, or actions).
Who will be brave enough to make friends with the boy named Queen? Sara Cassidy’s acclaimed novel, A Boy Named Queen, is now available in paperback!
Evelyn is both aghast and fascinated when a new boy comes to grade five and tells everyone his name is Queen. Queen wears shiny gym shorts and wants to organize a chess/environment club. His father plays weird loud music and has tattoos.
How will the class react? How will Evelyn?
Evelyn is an only child with a strict routine and an even stricter mother. And yet in her quiet way she notices things. She notices the way bullies don’t seem to faze Queen. The way he seems to live by his own rules. When it turns out that they take the same route home from school, Evelyn and Queen become friends, even if she finds Queen irritating at times. Why doesn’t he just shut up and stop attracting so much attention to himself.
Yet Queen is the most interesting person she has ever met. So when she receives a last-minute invitation to his birthday party, she knows she must somehow persuade her mother to let her go, even if Queen’s world upends everything her mother considers appropriate.
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.3
Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character's thoughts, words, or actions).
| Published By | Groundwood Books Ltd — Aug 1, 2016 |
| Specifications | 80 pages | 5 in x 7.5 in |
| Keywords | acceptance; bullying; middle school; being different; friends and friendship issues; independent; differences; harassment; gender identity; gender expression; appreciation; caring; courage; pride; respect for self; figurative language; simile; metaphor; visualizing; questioning; imagining; Common Core aligned; CC Literature Key Ideas and Details; grade 4; Quill & Quire starred review; Kirkus starred review; Rocky Mountain Book Award; CBC Best Books; middle grade fiction; |
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Supporting Resources
(select item to download) |
Excerpt |
| Written By |
SARA CASSIDY is a journalist, editor and the author of twenty children’s books. Her books have won the Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize and been Junior Library Guild selections. They have been nominated for the Governor General's Literary Award in Young People's Literature, Chocolate Lily Award, Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Award, Diamond Willow Award, Silver Birch Express Award and the Sunburst Award. Sara lives in Victoria, British Columbia. |
| Written By |
|
SARA CASSIDY is a journalist, editor and the author of twenty children’s books. Her books have won the Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize and been Junior Library Guild selections. They have been nominated for the Governor General's Literary Award in Young People's Literature, Chocolate Lily Award, Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Award, Diamond Willow Award, Silver Birch Express Award and the Sunburst Award. Sara lives in Victoria, British Columbia. |
| Audience | ages 8 to 11 / grades 3 to 6 |
| Reading Levels |
Guided Reading R
Lexile 610L |
| Common Core | CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.3 |
Commended, Quill & Quire Reviewer Pick, 2016
Commended, CBC Best Books of 2016, 2016
Commended, Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices List, 2017
Short-listed, Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Award, 2017
Short-listed, Rocky Mountain Book Award, 2018
Short-listed, Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Award, 2018
Short-listed, Diamond Willow Award, 2017
“A small, eloquent book with a powerful message.” —Kirkus Reviews
“This is a book of gentle nudges that could open some minds as well as some possibility for discussion.” —Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“Cassidy’s novella is a little gem … a lovely book with which to begin the school year, not only for the message of tolerance it conveys, but also for the beautiful language in which it has been delivered.” —Canadian Children’s Book News
“Cassidy does a lovely job of letting the lessons of embracing individuality, confidence, acceptance, and tolerance clearly and cleverly reveal themselves in this short but punchy novel.” —Quill & Quire