First Chapter Fridays: Stamped

First Chapter Fridays continues with Stamped by Jason Reynolds!

Sore throat today? Lost your voice? This one has an EXCELLENT audiobook read by Jason Reynolds, one of the authors. I’m not the only one who thinks so, either! Stamped was an Odyssey Award Honor winner in 2021. The Odyssey Award is for excellence in audiobook narration.

Odyssey Honor (2021)

Stamped

Author: Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi

Copyright: 2020

Recommended for: Grades 7+

Genre: narrative nonfiction, world history

Themes: racism, prejudice, civil rights, US history, race relations, justice, social issues

Starred reviews: Booklist, Publishers Weekly, SLJ, Kirkus, School Library Connection

Pages: 294

See it on Amazon

My Review

Many students are already familiar with Jason Reynolds as he has several award-winning fiction titles for teens.

So what’s so great about this title? Personally, I love the conversational tone, which starts straightaway with Chapter 1. There is also a Introduction and letter to the reader before Chapter 1 that would make a great read-aloud on its own.

Chapter One of Stamped is 9 pages long.

Stamped appeals to teens’ senses of fairness, justice, and equity. Many students have experienced racism themselves, and they likely have friends who have also experienced it.

This book is frank and honest when discussing a topic that many people find difficult to talk about. It tells a very different side of history that students (and adults) need to hear.

RELATED LINKS:

• View all First Chapter Fridays (and my criteria for selection)