A Boy Named Queen

by Sara Cassidy

Overview

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).

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781773063782
Publisher:	Groundwood Books
Publication date:	03/01/2020
Pages:	80
Sales rank:	195,291
Product dimensions:	4.80(w) x 7.30(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

About the Author

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.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“A small, eloquent book with a powerful message.” — Kirkus, starred review

“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

“This is a book of gentle nudges that could open some minds as well as some possibility for discussion.” — The 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

Editorial Reviews

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 and Quire

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

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

05/30/2016
In this brisk, insightful story from Cassidy (Not for Sale), the first days of fifth grade prove eye-opening and confidence-building for heroine Evelyn, whose home life is on the strict and staid side. Change is in the air from the outset: during Evelyn’s annual end-of-summer trip to the shoe store with her mother, they discover that the local institution has been replaced by a fluorescent-lit emporium called Budget Shoes; Evelyn winds up with a pair of canvas shoes instead of the “stiff leather loafers... that have dug at her ankles every year since kindergarten.” At school, there’s another new arrival, Queen, who shows up with a pink T-shirt, a dog named Patti Smith, and a name that makes him an instant target for jokes. Queen’s breezy self-confidence is revelatory for Evelyn, as is her introduction to Queen’s free-spirited parents (“Evelyn realizes she has never touched someone with tattoos. She’s never touched a tattoo!”). It’s an eloquent celebration of individuality and not hiding one’s true self: something that (as Evelyn knows) isn’t always simple, but (as Queen knows) actually can be. Ages 8–11. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices


"A small, eloquent book with a powerful message." — Kirkus, starred review

"This is a book of gentle nudges that could open some minds as well as some possibility for discussion." — The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

From the Publisher

09/01/2016
Gr 3–6—A creative new kid comes to town and opens the protagonist's eyes to new possibilities: in a twist on usual trope, however, this book features a manic pixie dream boy instead of a girl. Evelyn's rigidly ordered, conventional existence changes for the better when Queen joins her fifth grade classroom. While Queen's name and occasional flouting of gender conventions make him a target for the class bullies, the two quickly bond over basketball and their strong imaginations. The plot contains little drama, instead focusing on Evelyn's feelings of awe and empowerment as she gets to know Queen and his bohemian family. Even Evelyn's biggest act of rebellion is quite tame: she brings a family heirloom cream jug for show-and-tell and tints the cream purple with food coloring. Her newfound confidence allows her not to care that some classmates find this weird. The ending is a bit abrupt and anticlimactic. VERDICT This brief and extremely low-key story may foster discussion about gender norms and other suffocating conventions, but it lacks the emotional punch of other titles about children who stand out, such as Alex Gino's George or R.J. Palacio's Wonder.—Sarah Stone, San Francisco Public Library

School Library Journal

★ 2016-06-28
What happens when a girl who is expected to live by the rules meets a boy who makes his own rules?Fifth-grader Evelyn is used to routines. Her mother insists on doing things a certain way—they buy certain types of shoes at a certain time of year, they wear certain outfits to birthday parties, and on the last day of summer vacation they make their house as “neat as a new pin.” When Evelyn begins her first day of fifth grade, however, a new student arrives who makes it clear that he makes his way through the world differently from the rest of the students. Queen is white, like Evelyn, and has long wavy hair and wears several beaded necklaces, even though, as the school secretary feels she has to announce, he's “a boy.” He and Evelyn form a quick friendship, and she learns that self-acceptance might be even more important than avoiding teasing and criticism from others. Cassidy offers a brief, stellar option for readers looking for characters who refuse to bend to societal norms and instead follow their own instincts toward confidence and joy. The contrast between Evelyn and Queen serves as a meaningful background to the friendship that forms naturally between them. A small, eloquent book with a powerful message. (Fiction. 8-11)

Kirkus Reviews