What do you think?
Rate this book
The Jacket
Thief!
When Phil sees another kid wearing his brother's jacket, he assumes the jacket was stolen. It turns out he was wrong, and Phil has to ask himself the Would he have made the same assumption if the boy wearing the jacket hadn't been African American? And that question leads to others that reveal some unsettling truths about Phil's neighborhood, his family, and even himself.
When Phil sees another kid wearing his brother's jacket, he assumes the jacket was stolen. It turns out he was wrong, and Phil has to ask himself the Would he have made the same assumption if the boy wearing the jacket hadn't been African American? And that question leads to others that reveal some unsettling truths about Phil's neighborhood, his family, and even himself.
96 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
73 people are currently reading
878 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Clements
189 books2,176 followersI was born in Camden, New Jersey in 1949 and lived in Oaklyn and Cherry Hill until the middle of sixth grade. Then we moved to Springfield, Illinois. My parents were avid readers and they gave that love of books and reading to me and to all my brothers and sisters. I didn’t think about being a writer at all back then, but I did love to read. I'm certain there's a link between reading good books and becoming a writer. I don't know a single writer who wasn’t a reader first.
Before moving to Illinois, and even afterwards, our family spent summers at a cabin on a lake in Maine. There was no TV there, no phone, no doorbell—and email wasn’t even invented. All day there was time to swim and fish and mess around outside, and every night, there was time to read. I know those quiet summers helped me begin to think like a writer.
During my senior year at Springfield High School my English teacher handed back a poem I’d written. Two things were amazing about that paper. First, I’d gotten an A—a rare event in this teacher’s class. And she’d also written in large, scrawly red writing, “Andrew—this poem is so funny. This should be published!”
That praise sent me off to Northwestern University feeling like I was a pretty good writer, and occasionally professors there also encouraged me and complimented the essays I was required to write as a literature major. But I didn’t write much on my own—just some poetry now and then. I learned to play guitar and began writing songs, but again, only when I felt like it. Writing felt like hard work—something that’s still true today.
After the songwriting came my first job in publishing. I worked for a small publisher who specialized in how-to books, the kind of books that have photos with informative captions below each one. The book in which my name first appeared in print is called A Country Christmas Treasury. I’d built a number of the projects featured in the book, and I was listed as one of the “craftspeople”on the acknowlegements page, in tiny, tiny type.
In 1990 I began trying to write a story about a boy who makes up a new word. That book eventually became my first novel, Frindle, published in 1996, and you can read the whole story of how it developed on another web site, frindle.com. Frindle became popular, more popular than any of my books before or since—at least so far. And it had the eventual effect of turning me into a full-time writer.
I’ve learned that I need time and a quiet place to think and write. These days, I spend a lot of my time sitting in a small shed about seventy feet from my back door at our home in Massachusetts. There’s a woodstove in there for the cold winters, and an air conditioner for the hot summers. There’s a desk and chair, and I carry a laptop computer back and forth. But there’s no TV, no phone, no doorbell, no email. And the woodstove and the pine board walls make the place smell just like that cabin in Maine where I spent my earliest summers.
Sometimes kids ask how I've been able to write so many books. The answer is simple: one word at a time. Which is a good lesson, I think. You don't have to do everything at once. You don't have to know how every story is going to end. You just have to take that next step, look for that next idea, write that next word. And growing up, it's the same way. We just have to go to that next class, read that next chapter, help that next person. You simply have to do that next good thing, and before you know it, you're living a good life.
Before moving to Illinois, and even afterwards, our family spent summers at a cabin on a lake in Maine. There was no TV there, no phone, no doorbell—and email wasn’t even invented. All day there was time to swim and fish and mess around outside, and every night, there was time to read. I know those quiet summers helped me begin to think like a writer.
During my senior year at Springfield High School my English teacher handed back a poem I’d written. Two things were amazing about that paper. First, I’d gotten an A—a rare event in this teacher’s class. And she’d also written in large, scrawly red writing, “Andrew—this poem is so funny. This should be published!”
That praise sent me off to Northwestern University feeling like I was a pretty good writer, and occasionally professors there also encouraged me and complimented the essays I was required to write as a literature major. But I didn’t write much on my own—just some poetry now and then. I learned to play guitar and began writing songs, but again, only when I felt like it. Writing felt like hard work—something that’s still true today.
After the songwriting came my first job in publishing. I worked for a small publisher who specialized in how-to books, the kind of books that have photos with informative captions below each one. The book in which my name first appeared in print is called A Country Christmas Treasury. I’d built a number of the projects featured in the book, and I was listed as one of the “craftspeople”on the acknowlegements page, in tiny, tiny type.
In 1990 I began trying to write a story about a boy who makes up a new word. That book eventually became my first novel, Frindle, published in 1996, and you can read the whole story of how it developed on another web site, frindle.com. Frindle became popular, more popular than any of my books before or since—at least so far. And it had the eventual effect of turning me into a full-time writer.
I’ve learned that I need time and a quiet place to think and write. These days, I spend a lot of my time sitting in a small shed about seventy feet from my back door at our home in Massachusetts. There’s a woodstove in there for the cold winters, and an air conditioner for the hot summers. There’s a desk and chair, and I carry a laptop computer back and forth. But there’s no TV, no phone, no doorbell, no email. And the woodstove and the pine board walls make the place smell just like that cabin in Maine where I spent my earliest summers.
Sometimes kids ask how I've been able to write so many books. The answer is simple: one word at a time. Which is a good lesson, I think. You don't have to do everything at once. You don't have to know how every story is going to end. You just have to take that next step, look for that next idea, write that next word. And growing up, it's the same way. We just have to go to that next class, read that next chapter, help that next person. You simply have to do that next good thing, and before you know it, you're living a good life.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 249 reviews
March 15, 2009
This book addresses the subject of prejudice. Unfortunately, I don't think it does it very effectively. The main character decides he's prejudiced and attempts to raise the topic with his mother who dismisses the issue and admonishes him not to talk to his father about it. When we do meet his father, we discover that his father is in fact very prejudiced. This is not handled in a way to make children think and reflect on the issue. Frankly, considering the reading level of this book, I think it's pretty irresponsible to give children the impression that this is an issue you can't discuss with white adults. The book ends with a token gesture on the white boy's part to show friendship and solidarity with the black boy. All neat and tied up in a bow. Whites and blacks are alike after all. There is no depth to this book, which attempts to cover a topic that is very complex and nuanced. Andrew Clements is a generally a good author. I was saddened to find him also responsible for this, and bothered that Scholastic chose to distribute it. I will not be adding this to my classroom library.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 11, 2007
Phil sees a kid with his brother's jacket on and accuses the younger boy of stealing it. It turns out that Phil's mother gave it to her cleaning lady who gave it to her grandson (the kid).
Phil then freaks out and thinks he thought the jacket was stolen because the kid was African-American (even though it was weird, because it was a fairly distinctive Italian jacket, so the race card seems a bit forced in this case).
It deals with the issues well for the intended age range, but I wanted a little more character development-- for Clements, it left me a bit underwhelmed.
Phil then freaks out and thinks he thought the jacket was stolen because the kid was African-American (even though it was weird, because it was a fairly distinctive Italian jacket, so the race card seems a bit forced in this case).
It deals with the issues well for the intended age range, but I wanted a little more character development-- for Clements, it left me a bit underwhelmed.
September 23, 2017
Can't wait to start a Literature Circle with this book. It's good to question, as the main character does, your own prejudices and to examine the system in which we settle into the unsettling.
February 6, 2019
A middle grade reader about white fragility. This may not be the epitome of books for fifth graders who need to check their privilege, but it's a start, which is more than anyone else has done. Sure, there are hundreds of books about white kids befriending black kids, a few about black kids befriending white kids (Drita, My Homegirl), and in the less didactic realm, we have historical novels and books where kids of all races confront racism, but this is the first book I've ever come across where a white kid checks his privilege. Phillip agrees with the I Have a Dream speech, but then he garrotes a kid in the hall who's wearing his brother's jacket. Phillip and the boy both get in trouble for fighting (or, wearing a jacket while black, in Daniel's case), and they both feel like shit after the principal gets done with them. And Phillip walks away thinking, "Would I have accused him of stealing if he wasn't black?," which grows to, "Why don't I have any black friends? Why don't I have any black neighbors? Why don't my parents have black friends? Why are the black guys on the basketball team casual acquaintances? Why is the only black person I know well the cleaning lady?"
Phillip walks in through his front door spiraling and says to his mom, "Why didn't you tell me I was prejudiced? Why is our whole neighborhood white?" Phillip's mom has all the opportunity in the world to talk to him about white privilege, red lining, institutionalized racism, unintentional bias, cultural differences or anything else but, "You're not prejudiced. Don't bring this up around your dad." And that's how it was for white people. Phillip's mom doesn't know why she and her white friends live in a white neighborhood, she just assumes that racism was solved in the '60s and if black and white people aren't joining hands and singing together than the fault is with (ahem) people other than herself and those similar to her. This is exactly how I was brought up.
Phillip continues spiraling until he sort of makes things up with Daniel, leaving more questions than answers, which, God willing, will lead to a thousand discussions about of race, class, and similar issues. It would have been nice to see things from Daniel's perspective, but Andrew Clements seems to feel that it's not his place to put words in the mouth of people of color. The emphasis on things being the same at Daniel's house as at Phillip's did rub a little weird. I get that this a short book and emphasizing differences is not what Clements was going for, but, "Oh, they're eating sandwiches just like I do!" is a little simplistic. What if Daniel's family was eating soul food, or they were on an African grains only kick, or they were gluten free? The Jacket begins the conversation, but has no answers.
Phillip walks in through his front door spiraling and says to his mom, "Why didn't you tell me I was prejudiced? Why is our whole neighborhood white?" Phillip's mom has all the opportunity in the world to talk to him about white privilege, red lining, institutionalized racism, unintentional bias, cultural differences or anything else but, "You're not prejudiced. Don't bring this up around your dad." And that's how it was for white people. Phillip's mom doesn't know why she and her white friends live in a white neighborhood, she just assumes that racism was solved in the '60s and if black and white people aren't joining hands and singing together than the fault is with (ahem) people other than herself and those similar to her. This is exactly how I was brought up.
Phillip continues spiraling until he sort of makes things up with Daniel, leaving more questions than answers, which, God willing, will lead to a thousand discussions about of race, class, and similar issues. It would have been nice to see things from Daniel's perspective, but Andrew Clements seems to feel that it's not his place to put words in the mouth of people of color. The emphasis on things being the same at Daniel's house as at Phillip's did rub a little weird. I get that this a short book and emphasizing differences is not what Clements was going for, but, "Oh, they're eating sandwiches just like I do!" is a little simplistic. What if Daniel's family was eating soul food, or they were on an African grains only kick, or they were gluten free? The Jacket begins the conversation, but has no answers.
July 21, 2017
The setup is simple - the mistaken identity of a jacket. This is a well done book about taking a look at race and society. Andrew does a wonderful job telling this story and it seems important right now to think about. It's 90 pages. The story is simple about Phil opening his eyes to his world and seeing how things are different for him and Daniel. The jacket starts all this going on. I enjoyed this little story. I have found anything Andrew does is worth reading.
September 23, 2024
I wanted to keep reading so I could follow the journey of the main character.
October 19, 2017
Not one of Clements’ best. I read it because Clements is one of my favorite middle school/elementary age authors and I hadn’t read this one yet. Basic, easy, extremely quick read that I guess might get some younger kids to think about racism and how other races are perceived and treated, but I don’t think it truly addresses the issue very well and I still think, in spite of trying to make kids think about it more, there were still some of those natural racial undertones in the book just in the way it was written—such as how Daniel responded to Phil about the jacket incident with the assumption all black kids would react that way, and how he treated Phil in the lunchroom. He does try to show racism in a way which is historically true, but even though Daniel lives in a nice home with his grandmother, it still has that feeling that his family can’t afford much (his grandmother seems to live “in the projects” close to an unsafe neighborhood...you have to go through an “unsafe” area to get to his house). Isn’t that very much how other races are perceived already? Clements does a much better job with other school related/growing up issues in his other books. Perhaps it’s an area he needed to research a bit more or have avoided completely. It feels pretty incomplete, like there should be a lot more to it. It’s not very convincing for one to change his or her opinion on race, although I guess it could be an ok starter into further books and conversation. Not a good standalone book for racism conversations though. Merely a supplement.
Read
March 8, 2013 The book that i will be writing a review about is The jacket.If you are the type of person that likes books that have mystery and a little confusion then you should read this book.The authors name is Andrew Clements and the genre of this is a realistic fiction.The characters of this book is Daniel and Phil.I personally think that this book is very cool and interesting.Since this book has mystery ,which i like, i would recommend this book to many people who enjoy mystery.
One example from this book is that when the boy Phil tried to figure out if the jacket was his brother but later finds out that his mom gave the jacket to her cleaning lady.Then her cleaning lady gave it to her grandson.
I am now done telling you about this book.So if you are still interested you should get the book and start reading.I hope that you guys will enjoy this book, because i really did because of the mystery and a lot of interesting things.
One example from this book is that when the boy Phil tried to figure out if the jacket was his brother but later finds out that his mom gave the jacket to her cleaning lady.Then her cleaning lady gave it to her grandson.
I am now done telling you about this book.So if you are still interested you should get the book and start reading.I hope that you guys will enjoy this book, because i really did because of the mystery and a lot of interesting things.
June 6, 2017
I starting reading this book to the class this morning at Summer Camp. It was the one time of the day that almost everyone was totally quiet. When I came home I finished it on my own and now this book has earned the top spot in my Read Aloud list. It's short but it is jammed with current issues that students face when it come to relationships between cultures. This is not only a must read for elementary and middle school students but this is a must read for adults as well. This book was definitely a great surprise from Andrew Clements, who I am not familiar with such a serious side.
December 31, 2019
This high interest, low reading level (high/lo) book dealt with issues I haven't seen in other high low books. It follows a 6th grader who is coming to realize that he is prejudiced and that he has privilege. I was pleasantly surprised by this short book and will be recommending it to my students.
July 25, 2022
Nice easy reader book that teaches a good lesson. Wish there was a little more depth to it instead of a forced "good ending"
June 19, 2009
This would be a good book to have upper elementary students read as part of a book group discussion. The topic of prejudice and awareness of the reality of the world for different races is seen from a fifth graders eyes. It brings up the topic without being didactic, but in a way that I think would get young students thinking about race in their own world.
March 19, 2014
Could have been better. Though I am glad there is a book where it can start a conversation for white kids who live as he does. Especially because this kid is "seeing" better the racial divide/differences in his local community.
October 28, 2016
I like this book because I like how the author explains how people are today in the book.What I don't like is that how the grandmother is the cleaning lady.
But over all its a pretty good book . I like the detail the other gives when people get mad .
But over all its a pretty good book . I like the detail the other gives when people get mad .
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 19, 2022
Another great read with a group of my kiddos! We had great conversations about prejudice.
This is a great book that goes with our Civil Rights Historical Fiction unit. It was written simply but forced the kiddos to look at some hard truths.
This is a great book that goes with our Civil Rights Historical Fiction unit. It was written simply but forced the kiddos to look at some hard truths.
March 8, 2019
We are a 6th grade book club, and this is our analysis of The Jacket:
Have you ever been accused, because you were a different skin color? In the book The Jacket by Andrew Clement, Phil and Daniel have a problem about a jacket and made their relationship complex. In the book the Jacket by Andrew Clements, Phil learns that racism is a real thing that happens all around the world However, it could be a complex thing to deal with. In the beginning, Phil blames Daniel for taking his little brother, Jimmy’s jacket. In the middle, Phil thinks that he is prejudiced. In the end, Phil ask Lucy where Daniel lives so Phil can return Daniels jacket to him.
Phil and Daniel start to have conflict over a jacket because Phil thought that Daniel stole his brother's, Jimmy's jacket.In the beginning, Phil is trying to find his little brother in the 4th grade hallway and thought that he found his brother because of the jacket but it wasn’t Jimmy, it was a black kid Jimmy’s jacket, so then Phil grabbed the jacket’s collar and that’s when Mrs. Atkin came in and told Phil to let go of Daniel (pg. 4/5). So, Phil and Daniel followed Mrs. Atkin to the principal’s office and when Mrs. Atkin left the principal, Mrs. Cormier came in and asked what happen in the 4th hallway. Phil said, "Jimmy forgot his lunch money.” Then Mrs. Cormier asked Daniel what happen, and Daniel said,” this kid comes and grabs me and starts yelling at me.” but Phil said” because he stole my brother jacket.” (pg.9). However, in this part supports the evidence because Phil and Daniel are yelling over the jacket in the principal's office, trying to calm down.
Phil kind of confused about racism round the world and it could be a complex thing to work with. In the middle Phil is kind of confused about racism but he learns as he goes on with the book. Phil walking home looking at the bus full of blacks and seeing another one fill of whites. Imagining Daniel was on it. The next day he took the bus to school and saw Jimmy's in Ms. Cormier office then he thought “no its Daniel’s jacket” (page 48). One day he came home thinking he's prejudiced, on page 37, Phil said, “how come you didn’t tell me I was prejudiced” his mom warns him he's not, but he thinks he is. Racism is all around the world, and it’s a real this that happens around the world However, in this scene when Phil needed a quarter to buy ice cream because he left it with his brother’s lunch money. But then Daniel handed him a quarter but phil didn’t take it because their relationship was so complexed Phil didn’t even feel like ice cream anymore.
In the middle/end, Phil believes that he is prejudiced and tells his mom. But his mom tells him that he is not prejudiced. Phil goes to his house to tell his mom that he is prejudiced because he went after a black that looked like jimmy because he had Jimmy’s jacket. But his mom asked Phil “Who says you’re prejudiced? Somebody call you that?” Phil said “No, but it’s true. I know what it means because we learned about it on Martin Luther King Day. It means you don’t like black people.” His mom said, “All right” His mom said, “Just hold it right there. Let me get my coat off, the come to the kitchen with me and tell me what this is all about.” (pg#37 & 38) This text shows that Phil said he was prejudiced, but his mom disagreed with Phil for saying that he was prejudiced. This proves that prejudiced is all around the world, because Phil was saying that prejudiced means you don’t like black people. Which leads to racism.
In the end, Phil feels bad for Daniel because he asked Lucy where Daniel lives, and Lucy tells Phil, and Phil gets the Jacket and runs 2 blocks to get to Daniel’s house. While Lucy is still cleaning, Phil asks Lucy the address of Daniel’s house to return Daniel’s jacket, and Phil had to run 2 blocks. The text says, “Daniel’s neighborhood was mostly filled with blacks. “(pg.76). When Phil had reached Daniel’s home, Phil ranged the doorbell and thought, “What if he slams the door on my face?” Daniel opened the door, “What are you doing here?” he asked, “To give back your jacket.” Phil smiled. Phil gave back Daniel’s jacket. After that day, they had become close friends. However, in this scene, Andrew Clement shows that Phil is stopping the conflict between him and Daniel by returning Daniel’s jacket, so they do not have to cause anymore conflicts, which proves that their relationship is complex. This story teaches us to not accuse someone of a different skin color, and in the end, Phil was being thoughtful of returning Daniel’s jacket and running two blocks, which can be tiring.
In the book, The Jacket by Andrew Clements, the character learns that racism is a real thing that happens all around the world. However, it could be a complex thing to deal with. In the beginning, Phil blames Daniel for taking his little brother, Jimmy’s jacket. In the middle, Phil thinks that he is prejudiced. In the end, Phil ask Lucy where Daniel lives so Phil can return Daniel’s jacket to him. People could learn that racism can be anywhere around the world. However, it could be a complex thing to deal with, and maybe racism is still happening around the real world. For Example, if Daniel was white, would Phil still grab Daniel?
Have you ever been accused, because you were a different skin color? In the book The Jacket by Andrew Clement, Phil and Daniel have a problem about a jacket and made their relationship complex. In the book the Jacket by Andrew Clements, Phil learns that racism is a real thing that happens all around the world However, it could be a complex thing to deal with. In the beginning, Phil blames Daniel for taking his little brother, Jimmy’s jacket. In the middle, Phil thinks that he is prejudiced. In the end, Phil ask Lucy where Daniel lives so Phil can return Daniels jacket to him.
Phil and Daniel start to have conflict over a jacket because Phil thought that Daniel stole his brother's, Jimmy's jacket.In the beginning, Phil is trying to find his little brother in the 4th grade hallway and thought that he found his brother because of the jacket but it wasn’t Jimmy, it was a black kid Jimmy’s jacket, so then Phil grabbed the jacket’s collar and that’s when Mrs. Atkin came in and told Phil to let go of Daniel (pg. 4/5). So, Phil and Daniel followed Mrs. Atkin to the principal’s office and when Mrs. Atkin left the principal, Mrs. Cormier came in and asked what happen in the 4th hallway. Phil said, "Jimmy forgot his lunch money.” Then Mrs. Cormier asked Daniel what happen, and Daniel said,” this kid comes and grabs me and starts yelling at me.” but Phil said” because he stole my brother jacket.” (pg.9). However, in this part supports the evidence because Phil and Daniel are yelling over the jacket in the principal's office, trying to calm down.
Phil kind of confused about racism round the world and it could be a complex thing to work with. In the middle Phil is kind of confused about racism but he learns as he goes on with the book. Phil walking home looking at the bus full of blacks and seeing another one fill of whites. Imagining Daniel was on it. The next day he took the bus to school and saw Jimmy's in Ms. Cormier office then he thought “no its Daniel’s jacket” (page 48). One day he came home thinking he's prejudiced, on page 37, Phil said, “how come you didn’t tell me I was prejudiced” his mom warns him he's not, but he thinks he is. Racism is all around the world, and it’s a real this that happens around the world However, in this scene when Phil needed a quarter to buy ice cream because he left it with his brother’s lunch money. But then Daniel handed him a quarter but phil didn’t take it because their relationship was so complexed Phil didn’t even feel like ice cream anymore.
In the middle/end, Phil believes that he is prejudiced and tells his mom. But his mom tells him that he is not prejudiced. Phil goes to his house to tell his mom that he is prejudiced because he went after a black that looked like jimmy because he had Jimmy’s jacket. But his mom asked Phil “Who says you’re prejudiced? Somebody call you that?” Phil said “No, but it’s true. I know what it means because we learned about it on Martin Luther King Day. It means you don’t like black people.” His mom said, “All right” His mom said, “Just hold it right there. Let me get my coat off, the come to the kitchen with me and tell me what this is all about.” (pg#37 & 38) This text shows that Phil said he was prejudiced, but his mom disagreed with Phil for saying that he was prejudiced. This proves that prejudiced is all around the world, because Phil was saying that prejudiced means you don’t like black people. Which leads to racism.
In the end, Phil feels bad for Daniel because he asked Lucy where Daniel lives, and Lucy tells Phil, and Phil gets the Jacket and runs 2 blocks to get to Daniel’s house. While Lucy is still cleaning, Phil asks Lucy the address of Daniel’s house to return Daniel’s jacket, and Phil had to run 2 blocks. The text says, “Daniel’s neighborhood was mostly filled with blacks. “(pg.76). When Phil had reached Daniel’s home, Phil ranged the doorbell and thought, “What if he slams the door on my face?” Daniel opened the door, “What are you doing here?” he asked, “To give back your jacket.” Phil smiled. Phil gave back Daniel’s jacket. After that day, they had become close friends. However, in this scene, Andrew Clement shows that Phil is stopping the conflict between him and Daniel by returning Daniel’s jacket, so they do not have to cause anymore conflicts, which proves that their relationship is complex. This story teaches us to not accuse someone of a different skin color, and in the end, Phil was being thoughtful of returning Daniel’s jacket and running two blocks, which can be tiring.
In the book, The Jacket by Andrew Clements, the character learns that racism is a real thing that happens all around the world. However, it could be a complex thing to deal with. In the beginning, Phil blames Daniel for taking his little brother, Jimmy’s jacket. In the middle, Phil thinks that he is prejudiced. In the end, Phil ask Lucy where Daniel lives so Phil can return Daniel’s jacket to him. People could learn that racism can be anywhere around the world. However, it could be a complex thing to deal with, and maybe racism is still happening around the real world. For Example, if Daniel was white, would Phil still grab Daniel?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
January 31, 2013It was Thursday morning right before first period, and Phil was on a mission. Hurrying through the fourth- and fifth-grade hall, he waded through groups of younger kids. His little brother, Jimmy, had left the house early so he could ride to school with a friend, and he had left his lunch money on the kitchen counter.
Phil was tall for a sixth grader, so most of the younger kids got out of his way. Which was good, because he had no time to mess around. If he got one more tardy during December, he would have to serve two detentions. The pressure made Phil's imagination run at full throttle. Like, if I'm late for math today, then I might not be allowed to take the test — and then I could flunk math! I might even flunk sixth grade and get left back! And when Mom and Dad yell at me, I'm gonna get so mad, 'cause, like, it's not even my fault! I'll say, "Hey, know what? Forget about school, that's what!" And I'll just drop out and turn into a bum — or maybe even a criminal. My whole life's gonna be a mess, and it's all on account of my stupid little brother! Where is that punk?
Phil was about to stick his head into a classroom to look around. Then up at the corner of the hallway he thought he saw the back of his brother's jacket. It had to be Jimmy. No one else in the whole city had a jacket like that one.
He called, "Hey, Jimmy!" but his brother didn't stop, and Phil pushed his way forward and rushed around the corner. "Hey, idiot, you forgot..."
But it wasn't Jimmy. It was someone Phil had never seen before, a black kid. Wearing Jimmy's jacket.
Phil grabbed the collar and said, "Hey! This is mybrother's jacket! Where is he? How'd you get this from him?"
The other boy struggled, trying to pull away. "What're you talkin' about? Let go of me! This is my jacket! I don't even know your brother!"
The kid twisted and turned to break free, but Phil was a lot bigger and stronger. "You tell me where my brother's at, or I'm gonna — "
"Boys! You stop it, right now!" Mrs. Atkin came striding through the crowd that had gathered, pushing kids out of her way with her left hand and pointing at Phil with the other one. "You let go of him, and I mean it!"
Drawn by Mrs. Atkin's voice, three or four other teachers stepped out into the hallway.
Phil let go of the jacket, and the younger boy jerked around to face him, his fists up, his eyes narrowed.
Mrs. Atkin stepped between them and said to the younger boy, "Daniel, you put your hands down. And all the rest of you kids, go on about your business. Get your things put away and get to your rooms. Go on, there's nothing happening here." Then, glaring at Phil and the smaller boy, she said, "You two, come with me."
The other teachers were moving around in the hallway now, talking to kids, quieting everyone down.
Phil and Daniel followed Mrs. Atkin along the hall. And Phil knew where they were headed — straight to the office. He thought, Now I'm gonna flunk out for sure.
At the office door Mrs. Atkin stopped and herded the boys in ahead of her. "Mrs. Cormier? Sorry to start your day like this, but I found these two going at it down in the fourth-grade hall. I've got to get back to my room before something else breaks loose."
The principal still had her coat on from being out at the curb with the buses. She frowned at the boys and pointed toward her office. "Walk in and sit down. And I don't want you two to even look at each other, is that clear?"
Both of them nodded and walked into her office.
A minute later Mrs. Cormier came in and sat down behind her desk. She motioned to Phil, who had taken a chair against the wall. "Come over here and sit in front of me. I want to be able to look each of you in the eye."
Daniel kept looking straight ahead at Mrs. Cormier. When Phil was seated, she said, "Phil, you've got no business being in the four-five hall in the morning. Why were you there?"
"My brother, Jimmy, forgot his lunch money. And I still have to give it to him."
Mrs. Cormier nodded. "All right, that makes sense. Here," she said, putting out her hand, "give me his money, and I'll make sure he gets it."
Phil dug in his pocket and gave the coins to the principal. She put them on her desk and then turned to the other boy. "Okay, Daniel, you first: What happened?"
"What happened is, I'm talking with my friends, and this kid comes and grabs me and starts yelling at me. I've never seen him before. I didn't do a thing!"
Mrs. Cormier turned to Phil. "Did you grab him, Phil?"
"Yeah, 'cause he stole my brother's jacket! That's my old jacket, and now it's my brother's, and this kid stole it, so I grabbed him."
"Liar!" Daniel jumped to his feet and faced Phil, his fists clenched. "I never stole a thing! My gramma gave me this jacket for my birthday, and that's the truth, so you stop saying that!"
"Daniel," said Mrs. Cormier sharply, "you sit down and stay put!" Mrs. Cormier swept her eyes between the boys. "I think this is a simple misunderstanding. Phil, isn't it possible that Daniel happens to have a jacket just like your brother's?"
Phil shook his head forcefully. "No way. My mom bought that jacket when she went to Italy, and she brought it back for me. Go ahead, look at the label inside the neck. It's gonna say 'Ricci di Roma.' That's because she got it in Rome. Go ahead and look. That's my jacket."
Mrs. Cormier stood up and walked around to the front of her desk. "May I look at the label, Daniel?"
He shrugged and stuck his lower lip out. "I don't care. 'Cause this isn't his jacket."
The principal gently pulled the collar of the jacket back, and then twisted her neck and adjusted her glasses. Her eyebrows shot up. "It says 'Ricci di Roma.'"
"See? I told you so," said Phil triumphantly. "He stole it!"
"Did not, you big liar!" And if Mrs. Cormier hadn't been on her feet to catch him, Daniel would have been on top of Phil, fists swinging. She pushed him back into his chair and shouted, "Silence! Not another word, either of you!" Calling to the secretary through the open door, she said, "Mrs. Donne? Get me the emergency cards for Philip Morelli and Daniel Taylor, would you — right away."
Thirty seconds later Mrs. Cormier was dialing her phone, then smiling and speaking. "Mrs. Taylor? This is Mrs. Cormier, the principal at Daniel's school....No, he's fine, but there's been a disagreement this morning, and he's in the middle of it. It's about a jacket, the one Daniel says he got for his birthday. Another boy is here, and he says the jacket belongs to him. Can you tell me anything else that might help?...Yes....Oh. I see....So it was a gift....Yes, I see. Well, that's it, then. I'm awfully sorry to have bothered you....Yes, you too. Good-bye."
Daniel turned to Phil. "See? I told you so. It was a gift — for me."
Mrs. Cormier said, "It turns out you're both right, boys. Someone gave that jacket to your grandmother, Daniel, and then she gave it to you."
Phil made a face. "Gave it to his grandmother? How come?"
Mrs. Cormier started to say something, then stopped, smiled awkwardly, and said, "Well, really, I...I think it was just...to be kind. That's all."
Something registered in Phil's mind, and his mouth dropped open. Turning to Daniel, he asked, "Who's your grandma? What's her name?"
Daniel curled his lip. "None of your business. But her name's Lucy. Lucy Taylor."
Phil's face reddened. "Hey, look. I'm sorry I grabbed you, okay? You're right. It's your jacket."
"What?" Daniel looked sideways at Phil, cocking his head as if he hadn't heard clearly. "You come and almost pull this thing off my back, and now you say just keep it? What's that about?"
Phil looked at the floor. "It's just that...like, I think I know your grandma — that's all. So the jacket's yours."
Daniel frowned and narrowed his eyes. "You? Know my gramma? Right!" He smiled, taunting Phil. "Yeah, like, how you gonna know my gramma? Maybe you see her when you go to the same beauty parlor she does, huh? That it?"
Mrs. Cormier stood up and said, "Boys, that's enough. This is all settled. Daniel, Phil said he's sorry, and we know the jacket is yours. So both of you run along to class now. Mrs. Donne will give you notes for your teachers."
Daniel stood up. He stuck his chin out and said, "Fine with me. Because this boy just keeps telling lies and lies. Like how he knows my gramma."
"I do too know her!" Phil almost shouted. "I'm not a liar! I see her all the time because...because she's my mom's cleaning lady!"
The words seemed to echo off the walls.
Daniel looked like he'd been punched in the stomach. He backed toward the office door, his face working angrily. He yanked the jacket open, pulled himself free of it, and threw it on the floor at Phil's feet. "There's your jacket! You take it and you tell yo' momma that my gramma and me don't need nobody being kind to us!" And looking at Mrs. Cormier, he snarled, "Nobody!"
Text copyright © 2002 by Andrew Clements
Part II: Friends with Everybody
The rest of Phil's Thursday wasn't so good. Compared with the thoughts swirling through his mind, decimals and adjectives and Ancient Egypt didn't seem very important.
Phil knew that all he had done was tell the truth. About the lunch money, about the jacket, about Daniel's grandmother. It was all true. But he couldn't shake the feeling that he'd done something bad.
He kept thinking about the early morning scene in the principal's office, replaying it again and again. He kept seeing the look on Daniel's face, the anger in his eyes as he threw the jacket to the floor. And instinctively Phil knew that his being white and Daniel's being black was part of this. Maybe a big part.
Phil had known a lot of African American kids at school, ever since his first day as a kindergartner. And he thought, I don't care what color anybody is. I never pay attention to that. I'm friends with everybody.
But being friends with everyone and being someone's friend, those were two different things. And as he thought about it, Phil knew he had never had a black kid for a friend, not really. The kids on the school basketball team were good guys, but not really friends. Black kids went to his school, but did they live in his neighborhood? Not in his part of the city. That's just how things were. Every morning Daniel and the other African American kids arrived at school by bus, or sometimes their parents dropped them off. A lot of Hispanic kids too. Phil didn't know exactly where they came from. It didn't really matter to him, and he'd never thought about it much. Until today.
Phil kept arguing with himself. He thought, Yeah, but during school, everyone gets along fine — white kids, Hispanic kids, Asian kids, black kids. No problems.
Most of the African American kids sat together at lunch, and they tended to hang around together in the halls and at recess. But that didn't seem weird to Phil. When you eat lunch, or if you have a little free time, you want to be with your friends, that's all. Besides, everyone played sports together during gym, and sometimes at recess, too. Everyone, together. No problems. And all the black guys on my basketball team? I get along great with them.
Still, after school every day almost all the black kids got onto buses or climbed into cars and drove away. Those kids just disappeared as Phil went to basketball practice or walked home with his friends.
Sitting in math class, Phil thought about Daniel's grandmother. I've known her longer than Daniel has! And it was true. He was two years older than Daniel, and Phil had known Lucy all his life.
Lucy. That's what he'd always called her. Just Lucy. She came every other Saturday and helped his mom clean the house. Phil had never even wondered about her last name. It had never mattered. She was just Lucy. Until today.
When he was little, Phil had loved helping on cleaning day. He would take hold of the bucket with all the supplies in it and heave it up the front stairs, one at a time. Lucy would smile and say, "Why, Philip, look at you! You sure are big and strong!"
And now that he was almost twelve, sometimes as he ran through the house to get a baseball glove or grab a quick bite of lunch before going out to shoot baskets with his friends, Lucy would look up from her work and narrow her eyes at him. She'd put her hands on her hips and say, "Isn't that just the way — now you're big enough to really help your mama, and do you? No, 'cause you've got too much goin' on to be bothered with that!"
But that was just to tease him. Because it wasn't like Phil didn't do chores. He did plenty around the house. He took out the trash, raked the yard, mowed the grass, shoveled snow in the winter — stuff like that.
And he didn't mind doing housework, either. But Mom always said he and Jimmy didn't do it right. She said, "You guys pick up the big pieces, things like shoes and dirty clothes. Leave the little stuff for me and Lucy to worry about." Which was fine with him.
Phil kept trying to reason away his feelings. Can I help it if we have a cleaning lady, and she's black and we're white? And can I help it if she's Daniel's grandmother? I mean, it's not like we're rich or something. It's not like we force Lucy to work for us, is it?
Which was true, especially about not being rich. His mom and dad each had a full-time job. And back when Phil was born, his mom had decided to give herself a treat once every two weeks — that's what she called it, a treat. And that was having Lucy come to help her do the deep cleaning.
Phil thought about his own grandmothers. He had two, one here in the city and one in Florida. His mother's mom was the one who lived close. Grandma Morcone was sort of rich. She and Grandpa lived in a condominium on Herndon Street, not too far from the big museum. Her place was way up on the fourteenth floor. You could see the city parks from her windows, and the view looked like this beautiful painting. On the Fourth of July and sometimes on New Year's Eve, Phil and Jimmy and their big sister, Juliana, would sit with their grandparents on the balcony and watch the fireworks.
Grandma Morcone had long arms, thin and white. She wore silver bracelets on both wrists, and on one of her hands there was a ring with a big green stone in it. Phil could picture her fine clothes, her small diamond earrings, her silver blue hair, always neatly styled. His grandma didn't clean houses for other families. She probably never put a bandanna over her hair and pulled on yellow rubber gloves. Like Lucy did.
At lunchtime Phil edged into the cafeteria. He scanned the big room, looking for Daniel. He wasn't there, and Phil was glad. He got in line and started loading food onto his tray — grilled cheese, red Jell-O, carrot sticks, chocolate milk, and an ice-cream sandwich.
The lady at the end of the counter took his money, looked at his tray, and then shook her head. "You need another quarter, honey. Or else put the ice cream back."
Phil dug deep into his pockets, but he didn't have another quarter. And he knew why. This morning when he gave the principal Jimmy's lunch money, he had given away too much.
Phil had picked up the ice cream from his tray when a voice behind him said, "That's okay. Here's another quarter." Phil smiled and turned to say "Thanks," but he stopped before the word came out.
It was Daniel. He was three kids back in the lunch line, and he was holding up a quarter, and he was smiling. But it wasn't a real smile. Phil could see that. It was a smile that said "Gotcha."
Phil shook his head and felt himself starting to blush. "No, that's okay. I don't want the ice cream anyway."
"You sure?" asked Daniel, his smile getting bigger. "What's the matter? It's a gift — I'm just being kind."
Phil put the ice-cream sandwich back in the freezer. He took his tray and walked stiffly to a table where some of his friends were sitting. He took a seat facing the wall and began to eat, tearing off big mouthfuls of soft grilled cheese, chewing without tasting. He didn't talk and he didn't look around. When he was done, he dumped his trash, dropped off the tray, and went straight out the side door to the playground.
The cold wind felt good on his burning cheeks. The thing was, Phil saw exactly what Daniel had been doing when he offered him that quarter. Daniel was trying to get back at him, to embarrass him with a gift. And it had worked.
Walking beside the fence, kicking a stone ahead of him, Phil kept on thinking. But Mom giving something to Lucy, that was different, right? Because it's not like Lucy was begging, and it isn't like Mom was trying to make herself feel all rich and grand or make Lucy feel small and poor. Because Mom was just trying to be nice, right? And there's nothing wrong with that. There can't be anything wrong with being kind, can there?
A burst of laughter came from the other side of the playground, and Phil turned to look. Six black kids, all fourth and fifth graders, all boys. No one was looking his way, but Phil still had the feeling they had been laughing at him. But was it true, or was it just his imagination?
A gust of wind made his eyes water, and he zipped his coat up under his chin. And still looking at the black kids, Phil recognized one of them, the one with his hands jammed into his pockets and his shoulders hunched up against the cold.
He recognized the kid who wasn't wearing a jacket.
Text copyright © 2002 by Andrew Clements
An incident at school forces sixth grader Phil Morelli, a white boy, to become aware of racial discrimination and segregation, and to seriously consider if he himself is prejudiced.
Phil was tall for a sixth grader, so most of the younger kids got out of his way. Which was good, because he had no time to mess around. If he got one more tardy during December, he would have to serve two detentions. The pressure made Phil's imagination run at full throttle. Like, if I'm late for math today, then I might not be allowed to take the test — and then I could flunk math! I might even flunk sixth grade and get left back! And when Mom and Dad yell at me, I'm gonna get so mad, 'cause, like, it's not even my fault! I'll say, "Hey, know what? Forget about school, that's what!" And I'll just drop out and turn into a bum — or maybe even a criminal. My whole life's gonna be a mess, and it's all on account of my stupid little brother! Where is that punk?
Phil was about to stick his head into a classroom to look around. Then up at the corner of the hallway he thought he saw the back of his brother's jacket. It had to be Jimmy. No one else in the whole city had a jacket like that one.
He called, "Hey, Jimmy!" but his brother didn't stop, and Phil pushed his way forward and rushed around the corner. "Hey, idiot, you forgot..."
But it wasn't Jimmy. It was someone Phil had never seen before, a black kid. Wearing Jimmy's jacket.
Phil grabbed the collar and said, "Hey! This is mybrother's jacket! Where is he? How'd you get this from him?"
The other boy struggled, trying to pull away. "What're you talkin' about? Let go of me! This is my jacket! I don't even know your brother!"
The kid twisted and turned to break free, but Phil was a lot bigger and stronger. "You tell me where my brother's at, or I'm gonna — "
"Boys! You stop it, right now!" Mrs. Atkin came striding through the crowd that had gathered, pushing kids out of her way with her left hand and pointing at Phil with the other one. "You let go of him, and I mean it!"
Drawn by Mrs. Atkin's voice, three or four other teachers stepped out into the hallway.
Phil let go of the jacket, and the younger boy jerked around to face him, his fists up, his eyes narrowed.
Mrs. Atkin stepped between them and said to the younger boy, "Daniel, you put your hands down. And all the rest of you kids, go on about your business. Get your things put away and get to your rooms. Go on, there's nothing happening here." Then, glaring at Phil and the smaller boy, she said, "You two, come with me."
The other teachers were moving around in the hallway now, talking to kids, quieting everyone down.
Phil and Daniel followed Mrs. Atkin along the hall. And Phil knew where they were headed — straight to the office. He thought, Now I'm gonna flunk out for sure.
At the office door Mrs. Atkin stopped and herded the boys in ahead of her. "Mrs. Cormier? Sorry to start your day like this, but I found these two going at it down in the fourth-grade hall. I've got to get back to my room before something else breaks loose."
The principal still had her coat on from being out at the curb with the buses. She frowned at the boys and pointed toward her office. "Walk in and sit down. And I don't want you two to even look at each other, is that clear?"
Both of them nodded and walked into her office.
A minute later Mrs. Cormier came in and sat down behind her desk. She motioned to Phil, who had taken a chair against the wall. "Come over here and sit in front of me. I want to be able to look each of you in the eye."
Daniel kept looking straight ahead at Mrs. Cormier. When Phil was seated, she said, "Phil, you've got no business being in the four-five hall in the morning. Why were you there?"
"My brother, Jimmy, forgot his lunch money. And I still have to give it to him."
Mrs. Cormier nodded. "All right, that makes sense. Here," she said, putting out her hand, "give me his money, and I'll make sure he gets it."
Phil dug in his pocket and gave the coins to the principal. She put them on her desk and then turned to the other boy. "Okay, Daniel, you first: What happened?"
"What happened is, I'm talking with my friends, and this kid comes and grabs me and starts yelling at me. I've never seen him before. I didn't do a thing!"
Mrs. Cormier turned to Phil. "Did you grab him, Phil?"
"Yeah, 'cause he stole my brother's jacket! That's my old jacket, and now it's my brother's, and this kid stole it, so I grabbed him."
"Liar!" Daniel jumped to his feet and faced Phil, his fists clenched. "I never stole a thing! My gramma gave me this jacket for my birthday, and that's the truth, so you stop saying that!"
"Daniel," said Mrs. Cormier sharply, "you sit down and stay put!" Mrs. Cormier swept her eyes between the boys. "I think this is a simple misunderstanding. Phil, isn't it possible that Daniel happens to have a jacket just like your brother's?"
Phil shook his head forcefully. "No way. My mom bought that jacket when she went to Italy, and she brought it back for me. Go ahead, look at the label inside the neck. It's gonna say 'Ricci di Roma.' That's because she got it in Rome. Go ahead and look. That's my jacket."
Mrs. Cormier stood up and walked around to the front of her desk. "May I look at the label, Daniel?"
He shrugged and stuck his lower lip out. "I don't care. 'Cause this isn't his jacket."
The principal gently pulled the collar of the jacket back, and then twisted her neck and adjusted her glasses. Her eyebrows shot up. "It says 'Ricci di Roma.'"
"See? I told you so," said Phil triumphantly. "He stole it!"
"Did not, you big liar!" And if Mrs. Cormier hadn't been on her feet to catch him, Daniel would have been on top of Phil, fists swinging. She pushed him back into his chair and shouted, "Silence! Not another word, either of you!" Calling to the secretary through the open door, she said, "Mrs. Donne? Get me the emergency cards for Philip Morelli and Daniel Taylor, would you — right away."
Thirty seconds later Mrs. Cormier was dialing her phone, then smiling and speaking. "Mrs. Taylor? This is Mrs. Cormier, the principal at Daniel's school....No, he's fine, but there's been a disagreement this morning, and he's in the middle of it. It's about a jacket, the one Daniel says he got for his birthday. Another boy is here, and he says the jacket belongs to him. Can you tell me anything else that might help?...Yes....Oh. I see....So it was a gift....Yes, I see. Well, that's it, then. I'm awfully sorry to have bothered you....Yes, you too. Good-bye."
Daniel turned to Phil. "See? I told you so. It was a gift — for me."
Mrs. Cormier said, "It turns out you're both right, boys. Someone gave that jacket to your grandmother, Daniel, and then she gave it to you."
Phil made a face. "Gave it to his grandmother? How come?"
Mrs. Cormier started to say something, then stopped, smiled awkwardly, and said, "Well, really, I...I think it was just...to be kind. That's all."
Something registered in Phil's mind, and his mouth dropped open. Turning to Daniel, he asked, "Who's your grandma? What's her name?"
Daniel curled his lip. "None of your business. But her name's Lucy. Lucy Taylor."
Phil's face reddened. "Hey, look. I'm sorry I grabbed you, okay? You're right. It's your jacket."
"What?" Daniel looked sideways at Phil, cocking his head as if he hadn't heard clearly. "You come and almost pull this thing off my back, and now you say just keep it? What's that about?"
Phil looked at the floor. "It's just that...like, I think I know your grandma — that's all. So the jacket's yours."
Daniel frowned and narrowed his eyes. "You? Know my gramma? Right!" He smiled, taunting Phil. "Yeah, like, how you gonna know my gramma? Maybe you see her when you go to the same beauty parlor she does, huh? That it?"
Mrs. Cormier stood up and said, "Boys, that's enough. This is all settled. Daniel, Phil said he's sorry, and we know the jacket is yours. So both of you run along to class now. Mrs. Donne will give you notes for your teachers."
Daniel stood up. He stuck his chin out and said, "Fine with me. Because this boy just keeps telling lies and lies. Like how he knows my gramma."
"I do too know her!" Phil almost shouted. "I'm not a liar! I see her all the time because...because she's my mom's cleaning lady!"
The words seemed to echo off the walls.
Daniel looked like he'd been punched in the stomach. He backed toward the office door, his face working angrily. He yanked the jacket open, pulled himself free of it, and threw it on the floor at Phil's feet. "There's your jacket! You take it and you tell yo' momma that my gramma and me don't need nobody being kind to us!" And looking at Mrs. Cormier, he snarled, "Nobody!"
Text copyright © 2002 by Andrew Clements
Part II: Friends with Everybody
The rest of Phil's Thursday wasn't so good. Compared with the thoughts swirling through his mind, decimals and adjectives and Ancient Egypt didn't seem very important.
Phil knew that all he had done was tell the truth. About the lunch money, about the jacket, about Daniel's grandmother. It was all true. But he couldn't shake the feeling that he'd done something bad.
He kept thinking about the early morning scene in the principal's office, replaying it again and again. He kept seeing the look on Daniel's face, the anger in his eyes as he threw the jacket to the floor. And instinctively Phil knew that his being white and Daniel's being black was part of this. Maybe a big part.
Phil had known a lot of African American kids at school, ever since his first day as a kindergartner. And he thought, I don't care what color anybody is. I never pay attention to that. I'm friends with everybody.
But being friends with everyone and being someone's friend, those were two different things. And as he thought about it, Phil knew he had never had a black kid for a friend, not really. The kids on the school basketball team were good guys, but not really friends. Black kids went to his school, but did they live in his neighborhood? Not in his part of the city. That's just how things were. Every morning Daniel and the other African American kids arrived at school by bus, or sometimes their parents dropped them off. A lot of Hispanic kids too. Phil didn't know exactly where they came from. It didn't really matter to him, and he'd never thought about it much. Until today.
Phil kept arguing with himself. He thought, Yeah, but during school, everyone gets along fine — white kids, Hispanic kids, Asian kids, black kids. No problems.
Most of the African American kids sat together at lunch, and they tended to hang around together in the halls and at recess. But that didn't seem weird to Phil. When you eat lunch, or if you have a little free time, you want to be with your friends, that's all. Besides, everyone played sports together during gym, and sometimes at recess, too. Everyone, together. No problems. And all the black guys on my basketball team? I get along great with them.
Still, after school every day almost all the black kids got onto buses or climbed into cars and drove away. Those kids just disappeared as Phil went to basketball practice or walked home with his friends.
Sitting in math class, Phil thought about Daniel's grandmother. I've known her longer than Daniel has! And it was true. He was two years older than Daniel, and Phil had known Lucy all his life.
Lucy. That's what he'd always called her. Just Lucy. She came every other Saturday and helped his mom clean the house. Phil had never even wondered about her last name. It had never mattered. She was just Lucy. Until today.
When he was little, Phil had loved helping on cleaning day. He would take hold of the bucket with all the supplies in it and heave it up the front stairs, one at a time. Lucy would smile and say, "Why, Philip, look at you! You sure are big and strong!"
And now that he was almost twelve, sometimes as he ran through the house to get a baseball glove or grab a quick bite of lunch before going out to shoot baskets with his friends, Lucy would look up from her work and narrow her eyes at him. She'd put her hands on her hips and say, "Isn't that just the way — now you're big enough to really help your mama, and do you? No, 'cause you've got too much goin' on to be bothered with that!"
But that was just to tease him. Because it wasn't like Phil didn't do chores. He did plenty around the house. He took out the trash, raked the yard, mowed the grass, shoveled snow in the winter — stuff like that.
And he didn't mind doing housework, either. But Mom always said he and Jimmy didn't do it right. She said, "You guys pick up the big pieces, things like shoes and dirty clothes. Leave the little stuff for me and Lucy to worry about." Which was fine with him.
Phil kept trying to reason away his feelings. Can I help it if we have a cleaning lady, and she's black and we're white? And can I help it if she's Daniel's grandmother? I mean, it's not like we're rich or something. It's not like we force Lucy to work for us, is it?
Which was true, especially about not being rich. His mom and dad each had a full-time job. And back when Phil was born, his mom had decided to give herself a treat once every two weeks — that's what she called it, a treat. And that was having Lucy come to help her do the deep cleaning.
Phil thought about his own grandmothers. He had two, one here in the city and one in Florida. His mother's mom was the one who lived close. Grandma Morcone was sort of rich. She and Grandpa lived in a condominium on Herndon Street, not too far from the big museum. Her place was way up on the fourteenth floor. You could see the city parks from her windows, and the view looked like this beautiful painting. On the Fourth of July and sometimes on New Year's Eve, Phil and Jimmy and their big sister, Juliana, would sit with their grandparents on the balcony and watch the fireworks.
Grandma Morcone had long arms, thin and white. She wore silver bracelets on both wrists, and on one of her hands there was a ring with a big green stone in it. Phil could picture her fine clothes, her small diamond earrings, her silver blue hair, always neatly styled. His grandma didn't clean houses for other families. She probably never put a bandanna over her hair and pulled on yellow rubber gloves. Like Lucy did.
At lunchtime Phil edged into the cafeteria. He scanned the big room, looking for Daniel. He wasn't there, and Phil was glad. He got in line and started loading food onto his tray — grilled cheese, red Jell-O, carrot sticks, chocolate milk, and an ice-cream sandwich.
The lady at the end of the counter took his money, looked at his tray, and then shook her head. "You need another quarter, honey. Or else put the ice cream back."
Phil dug deep into his pockets, but he didn't have another quarter. And he knew why. This morning when he gave the principal Jimmy's lunch money, he had given away too much.
Phil had picked up the ice cream from his tray when a voice behind him said, "That's okay. Here's another quarter." Phil smiled and turned to say "Thanks," but he stopped before the word came out.
It was Daniel. He was three kids back in the lunch line, and he was holding up a quarter, and he was smiling. But it wasn't a real smile. Phil could see that. It was a smile that said "Gotcha."
Phil shook his head and felt himself starting to blush. "No, that's okay. I don't want the ice cream anyway."
"You sure?" asked Daniel, his smile getting bigger. "What's the matter? It's a gift — I'm just being kind."
Phil put the ice-cream sandwich back in the freezer. He took his tray and walked stiffly to a table where some of his friends were sitting. He took a seat facing the wall and began to eat, tearing off big mouthfuls of soft grilled cheese, chewing without tasting. He didn't talk and he didn't look around. When he was done, he dumped his trash, dropped off the tray, and went straight out the side door to the playground.
The cold wind felt good on his burning cheeks. The thing was, Phil saw exactly what Daniel had been doing when he offered him that quarter. Daniel was trying to get back at him, to embarrass him with a gift. And it had worked.
Walking beside the fence, kicking a stone ahead of him, Phil kept on thinking. But Mom giving something to Lucy, that was different, right? Because it's not like Lucy was begging, and it isn't like Mom was trying to make herself feel all rich and grand or make Lucy feel small and poor. Because Mom was just trying to be nice, right? And there's nothing wrong with that. There can't be anything wrong with being kind, can there?
A burst of laughter came from the other side of the playground, and Phil turned to look. Six black kids, all fourth and fifth graders, all boys. No one was looking his way, but Phil still had the feeling they had been laughing at him. But was it true, or was it just his imagination?
A gust of wind made his eyes water, and he zipped his coat up under his chin. And still looking at the black kids, Phil recognized one of them, the one with his hands jammed into his pockets and his shoulders hunched up against the cold.
He recognized the kid who wasn't wearing a jacket.
Text copyright © 2002 by Andrew Clements
An incident at school forces sixth grader Phil Morelli, a white boy, to become aware of racial discrimination and segregation, and to seriously consider if he himself is prejudiced.
May 13, 2023
Seven years ago, I discovered the works of Andrew Clements. I was instantly hooked and have now read almost 29 books from his masterful pen. Many consider him the ‘master of school stories’, and I would agree. I have a dual form of dyslexia and did not learn to read until after grade 7. So I never read ‘school stories’ when I was young. That combined with having my own school aged children has instilled a great appreciation for the genre and specifically for the works of Andrew Clements. Clements passed away in 2019 his last novel was The Friendship War, which is an excellent volume. He wrote amazing stories for children, but they are also stories that any of us can learn from. Back then I set the goal of reading all of his works, but as my own children have outgrown these books and they had slid by the wayside. I have now returned to them yet again.
This story is a little different. With race relations what they are in 2023 I doubt this book would have been published if it had gone to editors this year or last year. And yet it really does have a good message even if a little overly simplified, and the resolution comes too quick. In many ways the story feels unfinished, or at least that the ending was rushed. The description of the story states:
“Phil is on a mission. His absentminded little brother forgot his lunch money. All kinds of thoughts are running through Phil's mind as he searches for Jimmy in the throngs of fourth and fifth graders crowding the school hallway:...if I'm late for math today, then I might not be allowed to take the test -- and then I could flunk math! I might even flunk sixth grade and get left back!
Then Phil spots Jimmy's one-of-a-kind jacket and rushes to the corner of the hallway. Except the person wearing it isn't his brother; it's some black kid Phil's never seen before -- wearing Jimmy's jacket! Phil makes an accusation, tempers flare, and both kids wind up in the principal's office.
How will Phil react when he finds out how Daniel came to be the owner of this unique jacket? Will Daniel be able to forgive Phil for an accusation that was based on racial prejudice? What will each boy learn about the other, and most important, about himself?”
When Phil finds out how the jacket ended up on Daniel got the jacket he begins to question a lot of things. He soon notices the color of people more, who lives where, who works where and when jogging just 2 miles the difference in some neighbourhoods he passes through. But he also realized that he never notices or thought about it before. But how can he find a way to undo the mess he has made?
It is a good read, and it does have a great message from both sides. The ending felt rushed. And compared too many of Clements other volumes overly simplified. There are 19 editions of this book that I have found with a variety of covers, I like the one that is traditionally illustrated and matches his other works best. On Goodreads it has 3.5 rating when I wrote this review and on Amazon 4.6 if you could actually give half stars I would give it a 5 for the concept, a 3.5 for the execution and a 2 for the ending. Thus rounding to 3.5. It is a good read but far from Clements best.
This story is a little different. With race relations what they are in 2023 I doubt this book would have been published if it had gone to editors this year or last year. And yet it really does have a good message even if a little overly simplified, and the resolution comes too quick. In many ways the story feels unfinished, or at least that the ending was rushed. The description of the story states:
“Phil is on a mission. His absentminded little brother forgot his lunch money. All kinds of thoughts are running through Phil's mind as he searches for Jimmy in the throngs of fourth and fifth graders crowding the school hallway:...if I'm late for math today, then I might not be allowed to take the test -- and then I could flunk math! I might even flunk sixth grade and get left back!
Then Phil spots Jimmy's one-of-a-kind jacket and rushes to the corner of the hallway. Except the person wearing it isn't his brother; it's some black kid Phil's never seen before -- wearing Jimmy's jacket! Phil makes an accusation, tempers flare, and both kids wind up in the principal's office.
How will Phil react when he finds out how Daniel came to be the owner of this unique jacket? Will Daniel be able to forgive Phil for an accusation that was based on racial prejudice? What will each boy learn about the other, and most important, about himself?”
When Phil finds out how the jacket ended up on Daniel got the jacket he begins to question a lot of things. He soon notices the color of people more, who lives where, who works where and when jogging just 2 miles the difference in some neighbourhoods he passes through. But he also realized that he never notices or thought about it before. But how can he find a way to undo the mess he has made?
It is a good read, and it does have a great message from both sides. The ending felt rushed. And compared too many of Clements other volumes overly simplified. There are 19 editions of this book that I have found with a variety of covers, I like the one that is traditionally illustrated and matches his other works best. On Goodreads it has 3.5 rating when I wrote this review and on Amazon 4.6 if you could actually give half stars I would give it a 5 for the concept, a 3.5 for the execution and a 2 for the ending. Thus rounding to 3.5. It is a good read but far from Clements best.
July 18, 2018
From the book of Frindle to The Report Card, I honestly expected more from Clements than what he brought to the table beforehand. Well, we all have to start somewhere, I guess.
When I learned that the book was about to be racial issues, I thought how that would be nice to explain simply to children and how the world is not all sunshine and rainbows, but boy, Clements unfortunately didn't nail it like I expected him to. Instead, we get a book about some twelve years old kid having a middle age crisis about whether he's racist or not.
I understand children having fears of things around themselves, 'cause I sure know I did before I started actually getting real scary things, like growing up into adulthood and trying to figure out how I am going to buy back my student loans. Yeah, real scary stuff.
But Clements when he made the character Phil (our young main character), he instead made the poor boy a questioning mess about whether or not he was racist instead of going into actual racial issues. And let face it, we all had silly questions we wanted answers to, all the way to very serious, deep questions like our identity and whether or not if we know who we are.
We don't want kids to turn fearful and believe they're racist because of every little thing they do. And to make a logical point, I don't believe it to be racist because you see something that you believed to be yours and stolen, so you chase after the thief. And as I noted in the book, Phil never seem to knew that his brother gave the coat to Daniel's (our racial target point character) grandmother at all. He didn't even knew Daniel at that point yet at all. Say if some random guy was carrying your book bag and walking away with it and furthermore, your said book bag is missing in the area you put it in; wouldn't you go after that person?
The conflicting scene then spirals into a fight, which then somehow boils down to Phil being racist? I don't get it, honestly. They all figure out that someone in Phil's home gifted his brother's jacket to Daniel's grandmother. Conflict solved? No, instead it spirals even further out into Phil admitting to Daniel that Phil knew his grandmother because she's the cleaning lady of his home. Okay then? Is it that big of a deal that someone cleans someone's home? I know people who are dark skinned that work minimal jobs such as cleaning for wage. You also have people (even in the 90s-00s) working much more greater jobs and even being one of the richest people in the world at that point. It's nothing new. And as I looked throughout the book, it doesn't imply the year the book's timeline was in, so I am assuming at the time the book was made (early 2000s) is the time frame of this book, so yes, this wasn't much a big deal, even around that timeline.
I guess I expected Daniel to not know his grandmother is a cleaning lady. As a kid, you don't really begin seeing the world in its full colors at that time. But because of Daniel's temper, he goes off the roof about Phil apologizing for not knowing about the coat and gives it back to him. This whole scene causes Phil to go into that middle age crisis of his and sees the world in more colors than he did beforehand. At this book, this is where the book goes into a boring struggle to read for me.
All I keep reading is Phil seeing the races of people and their current livelihood. But I know at that time frame (and currently now) you have racial distinctions and their common area of living. Unfortunately, darker skinned people more commonly live in a poorer way of life and thus go into crime in order to survive and help their family, while those who are lighter skinned then to live on the more middle to rich class of life and tend to not default to lower level crime, however, they are more likely prone to white collar crime such as business fraud since they work into more higher waging jobs and the like, while those who are darker skinned do crime in a more lower fashion such as burglary or muggings. Of course, not all people of one color do one thing or the other. But it is the most common form of style for each group of people.
This information can still be used at the time The Jacket was made. With this information in hand, I can say that this book did a semi-decent job on the use of showing how others live in a child's point of view. But I feel like this book is encouraging kids to run miles away from their home to some house they found online with the unlikely chance that those people in that house aren't even there, risking their life, especially in a crime-ridden part of the area. Let's also keep in mind that Phil's father is implied to be racist. But between the relationship of his and Daniel's grandmother, I could've pinpointed as adults having disagreements on things.
Now I can sort of see why Phil might come into the idea that he might be racist, but his mother tells him not to think in that way and teaches him not to, while his father...er...doesn't really do anything? His father seems there as a strawman to show racism and we don't really get a personality out of him and all we seem to get is that he's a racist. I get it, racism is obviously bad, but to say that's the whole character is silly.
Phil's father is not even treated with some degree on if it's bad or not, or anything more with him or Daniel's grandmother on this issue. Maybe for all we knew that his father might just want to keep a business relationship with people who work for him. We know that Phil's father isn't a bad father, as he encourages his son to do well in basketball. But I do like the fact that Clements added in a way that racism can be taught, because as we seen with Phil's father, he was pinning his viewpoints on his young child who's mind isn't even developed enough to understand the concept of racism yet.
We don't get background on why Phil's father even thinks like this. We only get that he's racist and that's it.
This story was rather confusing to me. Maybe I'll pick it up again and re-study my viewpoint on it when I feel like it, but honestly, this work didn't really drive a good point home at all about racism and not to do it. But since this is just a kid's book, I'll give it some slide, but not a long as something being a kids' story shouldn't be an excuse for making a bad story in general.
Hopefully, maybe some readers of this book might find more appeal in it than me. But there are better books on racism to read out there, but unfortunately, this isn't one of them.
When I learned that the book was about to be racial issues, I thought how that would be nice to explain simply to children and how the world is not all sunshine and rainbows, but boy, Clements unfortunately didn't nail it like I expected him to. Instead, we get a book about some twelve years old kid having a middle age crisis about whether he's racist or not.
I understand children having fears of things around themselves, 'cause I sure know I did before I started actually getting real scary things, like growing up into adulthood and trying to figure out how I am going to buy back my student loans. Yeah, real scary stuff.
But Clements when he made the character Phil (our young main character), he instead made the poor boy a questioning mess about whether or not he was racist instead of going into actual racial issues. And let face it, we all had silly questions we wanted answers to, all the way to very serious, deep questions like our identity and whether or not if we know who we are.
We don't want kids to turn fearful and believe they're racist because of every little thing they do. And to make a logical point, I don't believe it to be racist because you see something that you believed to be yours and stolen, so you chase after the thief. And as I noted in the book, Phil never seem to knew that his brother gave the coat to Daniel's (our racial target point character) grandmother at all. He didn't even knew Daniel at that point yet at all. Say if some random guy was carrying your book bag and walking away with it and furthermore, your said book bag is missing in the area you put it in; wouldn't you go after that person?
The conflicting scene then spirals into a fight, which then somehow boils down to Phil being racist? I don't get it, honestly. They all figure out that someone in Phil's home gifted his brother's jacket to Daniel's grandmother. Conflict solved? No, instead it spirals even further out into Phil admitting to Daniel that Phil knew his grandmother because she's the cleaning lady of his home. Okay then? Is it that big of a deal that someone cleans someone's home? I know people who are dark skinned that work minimal jobs such as cleaning for wage. You also have people (even in the 90s-00s) working much more greater jobs and even being one of the richest people in the world at that point. It's nothing new. And as I looked throughout the book, it doesn't imply the year the book's timeline was in, so I am assuming at the time the book was made (early 2000s) is the time frame of this book, so yes, this wasn't much a big deal, even around that timeline.
I guess I expected Daniel to not know his grandmother is a cleaning lady. As a kid, you don't really begin seeing the world in its full colors at that time. But because of Daniel's temper, he goes off the roof about Phil apologizing for not knowing about the coat and gives it back to him. This whole scene causes Phil to go into that middle age crisis of his and sees the world in more colors than he did beforehand. At this book, this is where the book goes into a boring struggle to read for me.
All I keep reading is Phil seeing the races of people and their current livelihood. But I know at that time frame (and currently now) you have racial distinctions and their common area of living. Unfortunately, darker skinned people more commonly live in a poorer way of life and thus go into crime in order to survive and help their family, while those who are lighter skinned then to live on the more middle to rich class of life and tend to not default to lower level crime, however, they are more likely prone to white collar crime such as business fraud since they work into more higher waging jobs and the like, while those who are darker skinned do crime in a more lower fashion such as burglary or muggings. Of course, not all people of one color do one thing or the other. But it is the most common form of style for each group of people.
This information can still be used at the time The Jacket was made. With this information in hand, I can say that this book did a semi-decent job on the use of showing how others live in a child's point of view. But I feel like this book is encouraging kids to run miles away from their home to some house they found online with the unlikely chance that those people in that house aren't even there, risking their life, especially in a crime-ridden part of the area. Let's also keep in mind that Phil's father is implied to be racist. But between the relationship of his and Daniel's grandmother, I could've pinpointed as adults having disagreements on things.
Now I can sort of see why Phil might come into the idea that he might be racist, but his mother tells him not to think in that way and teaches him not to, while his father...er...doesn't really do anything? His father seems there as a strawman to show racism and we don't really get a personality out of him and all we seem to get is that he's a racist. I get it, racism is obviously bad, but to say that's the whole character is silly.
Phil's father is not even treated with some degree on if it's bad or not, or anything more with him or Daniel's grandmother on this issue. Maybe for all we knew that his father might just want to keep a business relationship with people who work for him. We know that Phil's father isn't a bad father, as he encourages his son to do well in basketball. But I do like the fact that Clements added in a way that racism can be taught, because as we seen with Phil's father, he was pinning his viewpoints on his young child who's mind isn't even developed enough to understand the concept of racism yet.
We don't get background on why Phil's father even thinks like this. We only get that he's racist and that's it.
This story was rather confusing to me. Maybe I'll pick it up again and re-study my viewpoint on it when I feel like it, but honestly, this work didn't really drive a good point home at all about racism and not to do it. But since this is just a kid's book, I'll give it some slide, but not a long as something being a kids' story shouldn't be an excuse for making a bad story in general.
Hopefully, maybe some readers of this book might find more appeal in it than me. But there are better books on racism to read out there, but unfortunately, this isn't one of them.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 4, 2024
I gave this book a very fast read while trying to decide if I would weed it or not.
The book was published in 2002, and as someone reading it 22 years later it's absolutely a time capsule of the period. There are references to dialing up a modem and playing Warcraft - Not WoW, old school Warcraft. The basketball references are all from the 90s (Michael Jordan, Shaq, etc).
The other part of this book that is still so very early aughts is the attitude toward prejudice. Versions of this storyline were played out on lots of TV shows in After School Specials where the main white character encounters racism, is surprised that racism still exists, somehow is able to make friends with the Black person, and vows to do better. I remember these kinds of stories and the whole attitude about racism ("this doesn't exist except in this one terrible instance and maybe occasionally elsewhere and certainly not ever near me gasp of horror") super well.
This particular book's take on it, where the white main character actually acts aggressively towards the Black person and then comes to realize his own racism (referred to in this book simply as the gentler "prejudice") gives this story a bit of a unique spin on the tale. Usually in these kinds of stories, the racism is external and the main character reacts to it instead of doing the work themselves.
Today we have writers who handle these topics in more thorough, more modern ways. All of the dated references and attitudes made this book an easy weed, even if I do love me some Andrew Clements. Full three stars though because it was such a time capsule of a book and it brought me like 15 minutes worth of mid-level joy for that reason, if nothing else.
The book was published in 2002, and as someone reading it 22 years later it's absolutely a time capsule of the period. There are references to dialing up a modem and playing Warcraft - Not WoW, old school Warcraft. The basketball references are all from the 90s (Michael Jordan, Shaq, etc).
The other part of this book that is still so very early aughts is the attitude toward prejudice. Versions of this storyline were played out on lots of TV shows in After School Specials where the main white character encounters racism, is surprised that racism still exists, somehow is able to make friends with the Black person, and vows to do better. I remember these kinds of stories and the whole attitude about racism ("this doesn't exist except in this one terrible instance and maybe occasionally elsewhere and certainly not ever near me gasp of horror") super well.
This particular book's take on it, where the white main character actually acts aggressively towards the Black person and then comes to realize his own racism (referred to in this book simply as the gentler "prejudice") gives this story a bit of a unique spin on the tale. Usually in these kinds of stories, the racism is external and the main character reacts to it instead of doing the work themselves.
Today we have writers who handle these topics in more thorough, more modern ways. All of the dated references and attitudes made this book an easy weed, even if I do love me some Andrew Clements. Full three stars though because it was such a time capsule of a book and it brought me like 15 minutes worth of mid-level joy for that reason, if nothing else.
October 17, 2019
Argh I hate when I leave the book I am reading at work!! So had to quick read something tonight as its been hectic and I have not been reading as much..this one was recommended to me from my darling colleague and amazing school librarian as something to spark discussion as an intriguing and fast read to make kids question themselves and how they see others....the book begins with a white boy Phil accosting a black classmate Daniel for wearing a jacket he knows is his. As the truth about the jacket comes out so does Phil's feelings towards black people, his ignorance on how persons from opposite races live and how a persons' surroundings can influence how they think..Phil feels embarassed for how he reacted and begins to question if he is prejudiced and why no one who looks like Daniel lives by him and once he discovers how Daniel lives and how wrong he was it is truly a teachable moment on how to value each other and show understanding..It was heartwarming and I can see students hanging on chapters dying to know what happens and even guessing on what they would do and why..I can see this giving both the mirror and window to our children to see inside the lives of people who are different..It seemed authentic even down to the dial-up internet reference LOL oh wow and using reverse phone number look up for the address..it was dated for sure but enjoyable.
September 1, 2018
After a not-so-harmless misunderstanding at school, Pete grapples with the unsettling idea that he's prejudiced. While trying to make sense of the segregation he now sees, Pete searches for a way to reconcile with the African American kid he wrongly accused.
The Jacket is a short story about prejudice and segregation. In simple language, The Jacket gently peels away the easy answers and convenient lies, revealing Pete's ignorance about his PoC neighbors, teammates, and friends.
I think this is a great introduction to some big concepts about segregation, prejudice, and race. That said, this is a very short story, a tad dated, and only supplies the white point of view. I'd highly recommend supplementing with titles from current black authors like Jacqueline Woodson, Rita Williams-Garcia, and Jason Reynolds.
The Jacket is a short story about prejudice and segregation. In simple language, The Jacket gently peels away the easy answers and convenient lies, revealing Pete's ignorance about his PoC neighbors, teammates, and friends.
I think this is a great introduction to some big concepts about segregation, prejudice, and race. That said, this is a very short story, a tad dated, and only supplies the white point of view. I'd highly recommend supplementing with titles from current black authors like Jacqueline Woodson, Rita Williams-Garcia, and Jason Reynolds.
Read
July 11, 2020Simply put, this book is a book about a boy (Phil) who starts to recognize the racial inequality in his life after he has an argument with another boy (Daniel) about a jacket. The focus is more on Phil's many small realizations about racial injustice as opposed to action (although there is a some of that towards the end of the book).
Is this book perfect? No. It's short, so there's not enough room here to get into much depth. The ending resolution between the boys is a little too neatly done. A lot is left unexplored, such any character exploration/growth of the adults in the books (and particularly when it comes to Phil's parents).
That being said, I think this book could be a good starting point for helping kids discuss and realize inequalities that they see both in the book and in their own lives.
Is this book perfect? No. It's short, so there's not enough room here to get into much depth. The ending resolution between the boys is a little too neatly done. A lot is left unexplored, such any character exploration/growth of the adults in the books (and particularly when it comes to Phil's parents).
That being said, I think this book could be a good starting point for helping kids discuss and realize inequalities that they see both in the book and in their own lives.
May 18, 2017
What i thought about the book the Jacket is that it was a really good book that took the majority culture of a white kid and a black kid growing up in America and that sooner or later there will be a realization about children living in different races may have a really different experience in the way their culture is on living. I also liked the fact that it took the two kids different culture and showed Daniels grandma helping a white woman clean her house. I also liked the fact that when Phil went and left his house to go over to Daniels side of town that he was able to see what the whole entire different culture showed over the way the black side of town looked towards what the white side of town looked like.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 14, 2018
I think this is one of the first books I read that dealt with racism in an explicit way: and Clements really lays the narrative out for the reader. The book is very clear about addressing racism from a white perspective and tackling intrinsic anti-blackness. I really appreciated that the book acknowledged more races than black and white and that someone who we don't see as a "bad" person can still be racist. It is a little dated with its "we're all the same deep down" (which glosses over the problem) and is very introductory about racism, but I still think it's a good start. This definitely shouldn't be the only or last book read on the topic though, since there have been lots of better books published since.
November 14, 2018
This book is about Phil, a young white boy who falsely accuses Daniel, a young black boy at his school, of stealing his brother's jacket. When Phil finds out the jacket was actually a gift from his mother to her housecleaner, Daniel's grandmother, the reactions of Daniel and the adults around them changes the way he looks at the world. This is a work of fiction, and I would deem it appropriate for second through fourth grades. I chose it because it can serve as both an excellent example of the way characters change and as an introduction for students that people don't experience life in the same way. Phil's slowly growing realization about unconscious bias and the way differences can affect people can lead students to think deeper about their own lives and possible biases.
April 9, 2021
As Phil is looking for his brother to deliver his forgotten lunch money, he sees an African-American boy wearing his brother's jacket and thinks he stole it. After hearing the explanation of how the boy got the jacket while in the principal's office, Phil realizes that he is prejudiced and begins to notice things he never did before.
The story in The Jacket isn't long or involved, but it delivers a powerful message. Phil begins to see things through different eyes, making him realize things about his home and family that he never knew before. The story isn't particularly well written or overly dramatized, but it does include an important theme. Overall this is a short book, but includes a valuable lesson.
The story in The Jacket isn't long or involved, but it delivers a powerful message. Phil begins to see things through different eyes, making him realize things about his home and family that he never knew before. The story isn't particularly well written or overly dramatized, but it does include an important theme. Overall this is a short book, but includes a valuable lesson.
October 18, 2018
I read this aloud to my Elementary Studio (I'm a Guide in a 21st century one-room schoolhouse) of 1st - 5th graders. It was a quick read that we finished in two weeks, only reading about 10 minutes per day. Although there were times I felt a little uncomfortable reading it aloud, it was developmentally appropriate for young learners beginning to grapple with the idea of present day filters of diversity. My only word of caution before reading it aloud is to have a conversation with your listeners that there may be moments of discomfort or uncertainty and that's ok. We also left a few minutes for discussion/questions after each read aloud session to clarify/name feelings.
January 6, 2018
Definitely not as good as Frindle. I read this book to see what my 9 year old was reading. I’m not really sure how I feel about it. It’s probably good for a kid to read if they are struggling with a similar issue but I feel it may put thoughts into the minds of the children who are “color blind”. I suppose it is teaching them about the way the world can be but I hope it doesn’t bring confusing thoughts to my daughter who is “color blind” when it comes to people. I will definitely ask her what she thought about the book when she is done and if she has any questions or comments.
November 28, 2020
I really appreciated this book. This is a great book to read together as a family and talk about racism and the subtle ways it permeates the white culture. Phil and Daniel come to blows over the ownership of a jacket which starts the evaluation gears rolling in Phil’s head regarding the racial overtones of his actions. I appreciated the author’s approach to this area of tension in our society. Blatant racism is fairly easy to recognize, but some attitudes are hidden within our homes, our neighborhoods, and our expectations. Check out this short book with a big message.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 249 reviews