Be Boy Buzz

by Bell Hooks (Author) Chris Raschka (Illustrator)

Be Boy Buzz
Reading Level: K − 1st Grade

From legendary author and critic bell hooks and multi-Caldecott Medalist Chris Raschka comes an acclaimed ode to Black boy joy, perfect for fans of I Am Every Good Thing and I Am Enough.

I be boy. All bliss boy. All fine beat. All beau boy. Beautiful.

Here a tight, exuberant story from two award-winning creators that captures the essence and energy of what it means to be a boy. Chris Raschka's soulful illustrations buzz with a force that is the perfect match for bell hooks' powerful words.

Praise for Be Boy Buzz:

*"This spare, poetic riff on young manhood plumbs the delights and contradictions of what it means to be a boy... Hooks's rhythmic blend of brevity and eloquence launches Raschka's trademark visual haiku... This life-affirming book will have readers as much 'in love with being a boy' as are its own utterly irresistible characters." ---Publishers Weekly, starred review

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Review quotes

"[The] poetry is rhythmic and rolling, each word finessed to fit the pulse of [hooks's] verse. The lilt of the language is contagious, begging to be read aloud... Raschka's mixed media illustrations are an energetic dream... Buy it for the boys and all those who love them."
—-Bulletin for the Center of Children's Books

"[A] pleasing and affirmative visual and textual interpretation of what it means to be a little boy: be boy buzz, indeed."
—-Kirkus Reviews
"A wonderful collaboration, this book is an exuberant as the boys it describes."—-School Library Journal
"The lapsit audience will want to join in the buzz, point at the pages, and act out the movements and the loving embrace."—-Booklist
Bell Hooks
A world-renowned cultural critic, feminist theorist, and intellectual, bell hooks is a distinguished author and professor of English. She has written several acclaimed children's books including Be Boy Buzz, Skin Again, and Happy to be Nappy, all illustrated by Chris Raschka.
Chris Raschka is the Caldecott-Award-winning illustrator of The Hello Goodbye Window and A Ball for Daisy. He also received a Caldecott Honor for Yo! Yes? and has written and illustrated numerous books for children, including several titles by bell hooks: Happy to be Nappy, Skin Again, and Be Boy Buzz. A 2012 nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Award, he lives in New York City.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781484788400
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date
December 27, 2016
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV039140 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance
JUV011010 - Juvenile Fiction | People & Places | United States - African-American
JUV005000 - Juvenile Fiction | Boys & Men
Library of Congress categories
Fiction
African Americans
Boys
Board books

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