Justin and the Best Biscuits in the World

JUSTIN is a fun and well-written story of a young boy's evolution into young manhood with
the guidance of his beloved Grandfather.

Unfortunately, it also features the extreme animal cruelty of a rodeo.
Neither Justin nor his Grandfather are sensitive to the animals, despite their earlier rescue of a fawn.

I was very surprised to see the "n-word" (it's on page 82 in mine) in a book geared toward such young children. I'm not saying this is a bad thing, but I would not have known about it if I had not been reading the book with my son. They did not discuss it in school or let the parents know which is a shame, as it led to a few great discussions in our home about racism and the power of words. Overall, a great book. It was nice to see some diversity in my son's required reading and to have a completely boy-centric book where the main character is not sickeningly perfect.

Ten-year-old Justin hates that his sisters and his mama are always fussing at him. They make him feel stupid because he can't clean his room or cook. But why should he? He'd rather be outside playing. After all, cooking and cleaning is just "women's work." That's why Justin is glad when his grandfather invites him back to his ranch for the summer. Justin is sure he can get away from all the women and do some actual "men's work," such as cleaning fish, mending fences, and riding horses. But back at the ranch, Justin learns some unexpected lessons and soon realizes that anyone can do anything once they learn how.

Great story about visiting grandpa on the ranch, and about learning how to take care of yourself. All about confidence, thoughtfulness and kindness. Really lovely.

Add another book to my list of recommended stories with African-American characters. I'm delighted to say that this story not only has African-American characters, but it has an African-American boy and an African-American grandfather as central characters. And any boy living in a female-centric home will love this tale of a boy who seeks out his grandfather to advise him on how to make a bed and how to bake the world's best biscuits.

Old Children's Book. Liked it as a kid, but haven't read it in years.