P.S. Be Eleven By: Rita Williams

P.S. Be Eleven

By: Rita Williams

Williams-Garcia, R. (2013). P.S. Be Eleven. (1st ed.). New York City: Harper Collins.

2014 Author Winner for the Coretta Scott King Award

Note: This award is given annually to outstanding African American authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults that demonstrate an appreciation of African American culture and universal human values.

Summary: This is the sequel to One Crazy Summer.  The Gaither sisters arrive back home and are jazzed up about having spent the summer with their mother and the Black Panthers.  They arrive home to find their father all giddy over his new girlfriend and their uncle Darnell is back from the war.  Delphine is the narrator of the story and takes us through her eleventh year of life and its ups and downs.  How she struggles with her uncle's PTSD, school and the dance, trying to stay in control of her younger sisters, and getting tickets to the Jackson Five.  As Delphine muddles and weaves through life she writes her mother for advice.  Her mother always responds back with the main point, be eleven while she can.

Rita Williams-Garcia is known for her realistic portrayal of teens of color.  She brings her own life experiences of the 60's to her novels.  Check out her other award winning and recognized books.

2003 Silver Kiss (Bologna Children’s Bookfair)
2003-4 Kentucky Blue Grass List
2003-4 Tennessee Volunteer State Book Award Master List
2002-3 Texas Library Assoc. YA Roundtable List
2002 ALA Best Books
2002 ALA Top 10 Best Books for Young Adults
2002 Children’s Literature Choice List
2002 New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age

2011 Coretta Scott King Award Winner

2011 Newbery Honor Book

2011 Scott O’Dell Prize for Historical Fiction

2010 National Book Award Finalist

National Book Award 2009 Finalist

LA Best Book of the Decade
1997 PEN\Norma Klein Honor
1997 Texas Library Assoc. YA Roundtable List
1996 Coretta Scott King Honor Book
1995 Best Books – School Library Journal
1995 Best Books – Publishers Weekly
1995 Best Books – American Library Association
1995 Books Recommended for Reluctant Readers – ALA
1995 Horn Books Fanfare Award
1996 CBC Notable in the Field of Social Studies- NCSS