Ghost Boys


By Jewell Parker Rhodes

Reading Level: High School, Middle School
Genre: Fiction
Awards: Golden Kite Award
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers 2018
Twelve-year-old Jerome is shot by a police officer who mistakes his toy gun for a real threat. As a ghost, he observes the devastation that's been unleashed on his family and community in the wake of what they see as an unjust and brutal killing. Soon Jerome meets another ghost: Emmett Till, a boy from a very different time but similar circumstances. Emmett helps Jerome process what has happened, on a journey towards recognizing how historical racism may have led to the events that ended his life. Jerome also meets Sarah, the daughter of the police officer, who grapples with her father's actions. Once again Jewell Parker Rhodes deftly weaves historical and socio-political layers into a gripping and poignant story about how children and families face the complexities of today's world, and how one boy grows to understand American blackness in the aftermath of his own death.

Award Key

Caldecott Medal

Most distinguished American picture book for children (annually).

Coretta Scott King Award

Distinguished books by authors and illustrators of African descent which promote an understanding and appreciation of the American dream (annually).

Golden Kite Award

Outstanding examples of text, illustration, fiction and nonfiction (four awards annually).

Newbery Medal

Most distinguished contribution to American literature for children (annually).

Scott O'Dell Historical Fiction Award

Outstanding work of historical fiction published by a U.S. publisher set in the New World.