What if a school's mascot is seen as racist, but not by everyone? In this compelling middle-grade novel in verse, two best-selling BIPOC authors tackle this hot-button issue. Now in paperback!
A perfect book for future changemakers and activists seeking contemporary stories on systematic racism, empowering kids ages 10+ to fight for justice in their communities.
In Rye, Virginia, just outside Washington, DC, people work hard, kids go to school, and football is big on Friday nights. An eighth-grade English teacher creates an assignment for her class to debate whether Rye’s mascot should stay or change.
Now six middle schoolers—all with different backgrounds and beliefs—get involved in the contentious issue that already has the suburb turned upside down with everyone choosing sides and arguments getting ugly.
Told from several perspectives, readers see how each student comes to new understandings about identity, tradition, and what it means to stand up for real change.
An empowering middle-grade novel, Mascot is sure to inspire its readers and start conversations in classrooms and communities across the country.
"Waters and Sorell's plain spoken verse is always sharp and direct."—The New York Times Book Review
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2023
A New York Public Library Best Book of 2023
A National Public Radio "Books We Love" title of 2023
NOMINEE
| 2024 Kentucky Bluegrass Award
SELECTION
| 2024 Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts
HONOR
| 2024 International Literacy Association
HONOR
| 2024 AILA - American Indian Youth Literature Award
SELECTION
| 2024 YALSA Best Books for Young Adults
SELECTION
| 2024 Texas Lone Star Reading List
AWARD
| 2024 Oklahoma Book Award
SELECTION
| 2024 CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young Readers
SELECTION
| 2024 Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year
SELECTION
| 2024 CBC Awards & Honors
SELECTION
| 2023 Cynsational Books
AWARD
| 2023 Nerdy Book Club Awards
HONOR
| 2023 Jane Addams Children's Book Award
HONOR
| 2023 Charlotte Huck Book Award
FINALIST
| 2023 Cybils
SELECTION
| 2023 CSMCL Best Books
SELECTION
| 2023 Indie Next
SELECTION
| 2023 Publishers Weekly Best Books
SELECTION
| 2023 Project Lit Book Club Pick
SELECTION
| 2023 Chicago Public Library Best Books
SELECTION
| 2023 American Indians in Children's Literature Year in Review
SELECTION
| 2023 NPR Books We Love
SELECTION
| 2023 Kirkus Reviews Best Middle Grade Books
SELECTION
| 2023 Junior Library Guild Selection
SELECTION
| 2023 New York Public Library Best Books for Kids
Charles Waters is a children’s poet, actor, educator, and coauthor of African Town; Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z; and the award-winning Can I Touch Your Hair? Poems of Race, Mistakes and Friendship. He lives near Atlanta. www.charleswaterspoetry.com
Best-selling author and Cherokee Nation citizen Traci Sorell writes inclusive, award-winning fiction and nonfiction in a variety of formats for young people. She is a two-time Sibert Medal and Orbis Pictus honoree for her nonfiction work. Her first five books have received awards from the American Indian Library Association. Learn more at www.tracisorell.com.
What if a school's mascot is seen as racist, but not by everyone? In this compelling middle-grade novel in verse, two best-selling BIPOC authors tackle this hot-button issue. Now in paperback!
A perfect book for future changemakers and activists seeking contemporary stories on systematic racism, empowering kids ages 10+ to fight for justice in their communities.
In Rye, Virginia, just outside Washington, DC, people work hard, kids go to school, and football is big on Friday nights. An eighth-grade English teacher creates an assignment for her class to debate whether Rye’s mascot should stay or change.
Now six middle schoolers—all with different backgrounds and beliefs—get involved in the contentious issue that already has the suburb turned upside down with everyone choosing sides and arguments getting ugly.
Told from several perspectives, readers see how each student comes to new understandings about identity, tradition, and what it means to stand up for real change.
An empowering middle-grade novel, Mascot is sure to inspire its readers and start conversations in classrooms and communities across the country.
"Waters and Sorell's plain spoken verse is always sharp and direct."—The New York Times Book Review
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2023
A New York Public Library Best Book of 2023
A National Public Radio "Books We Love" title of 2023
Awards
NOMINEE
| 2024 Kentucky Bluegrass Award
SELECTION
| 2024 Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts
HONOR
| 2024 International Literacy Association
HONOR
| 2024 AILA - American Indian Youth Literature Award
SELECTION
| 2024 YALSA Best Books for Young Adults
SELECTION
| 2024 Texas Lone Star Reading List
AWARD
| 2024 Oklahoma Book Award
SELECTION
| 2024 CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young Readers
SELECTION
| 2024 Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year
SELECTION
| 2024 CBC Awards & Honors
SELECTION
| 2023 Cynsational Books
AWARD
| 2023 Nerdy Book Club Awards
HONOR
| 2023 Jane Addams Children's Book Award
HONOR
| 2023 Charlotte Huck Book Award
FINALIST
| 2023 Cybils
SELECTION
| 2023 CSMCL Best Books
SELECTION
| 2023 Indie Next
SELECTION
| 2023 Publishers Weekly Best Books
SELECTION
| 2023 Project Lit Book Club Pick
SELECTION
| 2023 Chicago Public Library Best Books
SELECTION
| 2023 American Indians in Children's Literature Year in Review
SELECTION
| 2023 NPR Books We Love
SELECTION
| 2023 Kirkus Reviews Best Middle Grade Books
SELECTION
| 2023 Junior Library Guild Selection
SELECTION
| 2023 New York Public Library Best Books for Kids
Author
Charles Waters is a children’s poet, actor, educator, and coauthor of African Town; Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z; and the award-winning Can I Touch Your Hair? Poems of Race, Mistakes and Friendship. He lives near Atlanta. www.charleswaterspoetry.com
Best-selling author and Cherokee Nation citizen Traci Sorell writes inclusive, award-winning fiction and nonfiction in a variety of formats for young people. She is a two-time Sibert Medal and Orbis Pictus honoree for her nonfiction work. Her first five books have received awards from the American Indian Library Association. Learn more at www.tracisorell.com.
