A High Five for Glenn Burke

(Paperback)

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Description

When sixth grader Silas Wade does a school presentation on former Major Leaguer Glenn Burke, it's more than just a report about the irrepressible inventor of the high five. Burke was a gay baseball player in the 1970s-and for Silas, the presentation is his own first baby step toward revealing a truth about himself he's tired of hiding. Soon he tells his best friend, Zoey, but the longer he keeps his secret from his baseball teammates, the more he suspects they know something's up-especially when he stages one big cover-up with terrible consequences. A High Five for Glenn Burke is Phil Bildner's most personal novel yet-a powerful story about the challenge of being true to yourself, especially when not everyone feels you belong on the field.

Reviews

"The story. . .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." --Booklist, starred review

"Beleaguered tolerance strikes out; loud, proud love wins the game." --Kirkus Reviews

"[A] compassionate, well-written story." --School Library Journal

"Silas is an engaging narrator, slipping easily and honestly between accounts of his public bravado, his understandable trepidation of worst-case scenario fallout, and his private adoption of a role model in Burke, who both represents Silas' dilemma and cries out for vindication. Bildner's closing acknowledgments disclose that Silas' struggle was also his own, tacitly reassuring readers that, yep, things actually can get better." --The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"In giving Burke a place to shine, this book is worthy of several high fives, forearm bashes, chest bumps, daps, and any other celebrations baseball players invent as the game continues to advance." --OutSports.com

"I highly recommend A High Five for Glenn Burke by Phil Bildner, a terrific fictional story invoking the outfielder from the 1970s who wound up being a trailblazer." --Ken Davidoff, New York Post

"Silas is a realistic middle-grade hero--a baseball-obsessed kid trying to find his place in the world. Readers will love him, just as I do." --Erin Entrada Kelly, Newbery Medal-winning author of Hello, Universe

"A home run of a middle grade novel--a crackerjack story about the love and acceptance that everyone deserves." --Laurie Halse Anderson, author of Speak

"Fires a fastball over the center of the plate and into the hearts of readers. As necessary as it is fun." --C. Alexander London, author of the Dog Tags series and the Skybound Saga

Author Bio

Phil Bildner is a former New York City public school teacher and lives in Newburgh, New York. The author of many books, he speaks at numerous schools and libraries every year. philbildner.com