A High Five for Glenn Burke

December 1, 2019
A gay black baseball player posthumously inspires a sixth grade white boy who is ready-ish to come out. Baseball enthusiast Silas Wade opens the book by giving a colorful class presentation about Glenn Burke. Burke was a once-well-known major league player who invented the high-five and eventually left the sport after enduring isolation and harassment for being gay. Silas leaves that last part out, but heralding his hero in front of a crowd is the silent start of his own coming out. Further testing the waters, he tells his best friend, Zoey (a champion robot builder), he's gay and finds that there's a bouncy kind of freedom that comes from saying who he really is. Inspirational YouTube videos encourage Silas to come out to Coach Webb, an adult who embodies the understanding, guidance, protection, and encouragement that all queer kids should have. But when Silas gets nervous about everything changing and wants to backpedal into the closet, circumstances put him at a crossroads: continue to lie for self-preservation or live out loud like Glenn Burke wasn't able to. Silas is white, but Zoey has a Spanish surname, and his baseball teammates and one coach are black and brown. (One notable moment includes an explanation from the coaches about why monkey insults are racist.) As the narrative foundation is established, there are overt explanations of settings and characters that aren't additive, but these superfluous tendencies dissolve about 50 pages in. Insights into Silas' home life feel bittersweet and real with parents fumbling to do the best they can, but Silas' struggle is the central story. Beleaguered tolerance strikes out; loud, proud love wins the game. (Fiction. 10-12)

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January 24, 2020

Gr 5-7-The author of the "Rip and Red" series tells the story of baseball-obsessed Silas, a 6th-grader whose journey to self-acceptance begins with a school presentation on Glenn Burke, the 1970s baseball player who invented the high-five, who was gay, and whose real-life story did not have a happy ending. Soon Silas is coming out to his best friend, Zoey, and to his favorite baseball coach. But things get complicated when a couple of his teammates use "gay" as an insult, and he finds himself lying about Zoey being his girlfriend. With Coach Webb's support, he learns to take responsibility for his actions and strive for authenticity as he sorts out the mess he has created with his lie. As the novel ends, Silas has not yet come out to his family, but readers can be sure that when he does, they will respond with love and support. VERDICT The baseball-heavy plot may deter readers who aren't interested in sports, so librarians may need to be prepared to hand-sell this compassionate, well-written story to ensure a wider audience.-Laurie Slagenwhite Walters, Brighton District Library, MI

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from February 1, 2020
Grades 5-8 *Starred Review* When Silas has to do a presentation on a famous inventor for his sixth-grade class, he chooses Glenn Burke, the baseball center fielder credited with inventing the high five. When Glenn Burke arrived in the big leagues in 1976, the Los Angeles Dodgers thought he was going to be the next Willie Mays, Silas explains, but there's one thing he doesn't share with his class, friends, or teammates: Burke was pushed out of baseball because, like Silas, he was gay. Even as he considers coming out, Silas worries about his secret being revealed. As he becomes increasingly nervous, he distances himself from baseball and, worse, tells a lie about his best friend Zoey, which causes her to stop speaking to him. Bildner's (Martina & Chrissie, 2017) latest is a middle-grade book that will have broad appeal. Young readers will relate to Silas and cheer him on as he navigates longstanding relationships that suddenly seem new and awkward. Muted problems at home, seen through Silas' eyes, encourage communication with and trust in parents. The story also 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.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)