Justin and the Best Biscuits in the World - Softcover

Walter, Mildred Pitts

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0061958913 ISBN 13: 9780061958915

Publisher: Amistad Books for Young Readers, 2010

Synopsis

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.

About this title

Review:

Sure, he can catch a greased pig at a local rodeo, but can he bake biscuits? Ten-year-old Justin struggles to "feel like a guy" in a family dominated by females. When he goes to spend a week at his grandfather's ranch, he discovers there's more to being a man than riding horses and tending to livestock. There's also cleaning up messes, making beds and, from time to time, baking biscuits--good biscuits. Along with its lighthearted treatment of gender conflict, this story, which won the 1987 Coretta Scott King Award, provides a look at the little-known history of the black cowboys who helped settle the West and create rodeos.

From the Inside Flap:

Ten-year-old Justin thinks housework is for women, until he's invited to his grandfather's ranch. There, along with fishing, riding, and going to the rodeo, Justin learns about his black cowboy ancestors and that doing "women's work"--even baking prize-winning biscuits--is part of taking care of himself. Reading level: 2.7.  

About this edition

• Publisher: Amistad Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0061958913
• ISBN 13: 9780061958915
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 144
• Illustrator: Stock Catherine