Gold Dust

Why is this not better known? It reads like a Newbery Honor title, but more enjoyable than many. It's beautifully written, with fascinating characters, covering themes important to children. The only problem I see is that the historical context isn't explained. Bussing? Who understands that now, without a history lesson?

Read this book, but first know that Richard is white, and so is Fred Lynn, and so are the Ward 17 kids that get bussed to this parochial (Catholic, not public) school. Napoleon (from Dominica, not any of the other places mentioned in other reviews), and so is Jim Rice. Napoleon is from a 'higher class' family, with a more comfortable income. It's easy for Richard to not pay attention to racism or anything but baseball show more because he's white in Boston in 1975.

Apparently Napoleon is the only African-American in this school... I need to refresh my memory on the Bussing era to understand why.... and of course your child will need to learn that history, too.

Given that, I do recommend this LFL find to "fanatics" of any sport or game, and to families who want to learn about history of the 1970s. show less

Dull writing, unmemorable plot and entertaining only when I was young. Not anymore.