A High Five for Glenn Burke
- Subject
- LGBTQ+
- Age
- 9-12 years
- Format
- Hardcover
- Pages
- 288
- Publisher
- Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Byr)
- Size
- 13.7 cm × 20.8 cm
- ISBN
- 9780374312732
A 2021 NCTE Charlotte Huck Award Honor Book
A Chicago Public Library Best Book of 2020
A 2021 ALA Rainbow Book
A Bank Street Best Book of 2021
A heartfelt and relatable novel from Phil Bildner, weaving the real history of Los Angeles Dodger and Oakland Athletic Glenn Burke--the first professional baseball player to come out as gay--into the story of a middle-school kid learning to be himself.
When sixth grader Silas Wade does a school presentation on former Major Leaguer Glenn Burke, it’s more than just a report about the irrepressible inventor of the high five. Burke was a gay baseball player in the 1970s—and for Silas, the presentation is his own first baby step toward revealing a truth about himself he's tired of hiding. Soon he tells his best friend, Zoey, but the longer he keeps his secret from his baseball teammates, the more he suspects they know something’s up—especially when he stages one big cover-up with terrible consequences.
A High Five for Glenn Burke is Phil Bildner’s most personal novel yet—a powerful story about the challenge of being true to yourself, especially when not everyone feels you belong on the field.
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What reviewers said
“The story. . .speaks to the importance of creating a welcoming community—whether on a baseball field or in a classroom—that embraces differences with not only tolerance but also complete and unrelenting support. An essential book for all readers, not just baseball fans, about friendship, acceptance, and self-confidence.”
“Beleaguered tolerance strikes out; loud, proud love wins the game.”
“[A] compassionate, well-written story.”
“Silas is an engaging narrator, slipping easily and honestly between accounts of his public bravado, his understandable trepidation of worst-case scenario fallout, and his private adoption of a role model in Burke, who both represents Silas’ dilemma and cries out for vindication. Bildner’s closing acknowledgments disclose that Silas’ struggle was also his own, tacitly reassuring readers that, yep, things actually can get better.”
“In giving Burke a place to shine, this book is worthy of several high fives, forearm bashes, chest bumps, daps, and any other celebrations baseball players invent as the game continues to advance."
“I highly recommend A High Five for Glenn Burke by Phil Bildner, a terrific fictional story invoking the outfielder from the 1970s who wound up being a trailblazer.”
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