EllRay Jakes is Not a Chicken!
Eight-year-old EllRay Jakes is sick of getting picked on. But every time he tries to defend himself against class bully Jared Matthews, EllRay is the one who winds up in trouble. It's just not fair! Then his dad offers him a deal: If EllRay can stay out of trouble for a week, they'll go to Disneyland! But being good for one whole week is not so easy. . . .
This humorous and true-to-life story kicks off the EllRay series, which is just right for boys (and girls!) who are beginning to read chapter books.
A Scholastic Book Club selection
A Junior Library Guild selection
A CYBILS nominee (Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards)
A 2012—2013 Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List Selection
REVIEWS:
"EllRay Jakes is Not a Chicken is just the first in a long line of EllRay Jakes books to come....My hope, above all, is that EllRay paves the way for other books about other present day African-American boys. Preferably short, funny stories like these that give kids new heroes to grapple with. Writing such books isn't easy, but I've always felt that aside from easy readers, early chapter titles are the hardest and most rewarding books to make for kids. And rewarding isn't a bad word to use in conjunction with EllRay here. Better check him out."
School Library Journal
"Warner's clever plotting brings an unexpected and rewarding ending. EllRay's ingenuous narration and the well-observed classroom dynamics are the main draw, and Harper's cartoons, incorporated throughout, further enliven the story."
Publishers Weekly
"EllRay is African-American in a predominantly white school; race is addressed openly here (he sometimes wishes there were more kids who look like him; his father suspects—incorrectly—that race is the reason EllRay is getting teased) without serving as the main issue, which is refreshing.
EllRay's struggles and eventual success coping with bullying, a hot-button topic, ring true, and kids who enjoyed previous Emma stories will appreciate this take from the boys' side."
"There is something really likable about EllRay. He's the ultimate underdog, dealing with threats from kids who are physically superior, outnumbering and outweighing him. His observations of the unfairness of the world around him really endear him to the reader and also help put the reader in his shoes."
"I'm so grateful to find the first black boy character in an early chapter book since . . . well it's been a really long time... Definitely recommended."