The Planet of Junior Brown is a 1971 young adult novel by Virginia Hamilton and illustrator Jerry Pinkney. It is about two boys, Junior Brown and Buddy, who with a school janitor, Mr. Pool, construct a mechanical solar system.
Reception
Barbara Bader reviewing The Planet of Junior Brown in Kirkus Reviews wrote "This is not a story to be judged on grounds of probability, but one which makes its own insistent reality; it endures along with its promise long after the story ends."[1] and revisiting the book in Horn Book 40 years later noted that children were not borrowing the book from libraries but wrote "the human drama will prevail and Junior Brown will continue to find susceptible readers, here and there, to whom it will mean a great deal."[2]
The Planet of Junior Brown has also been reviewed by African American Review, and[3] Literature Arts Medicine Database.[4]
Awards and nominations
- 1972–1973 Mark Twain Awards - nomination[5]
- 1971 Horn Book fanfare book[6]
- 1972 Lewis Carroll Shelf Award - winner[7]
- 1972 Newbery Medal - honor[8]
Adaptations
In 1997 a film of the same name, adapted from the novel was released.[9]
References
- ^ Barbara Bader (September 1, 1971). "The Planet of Junior Brown". Kirkus Reviews. Kirkus Media LLC. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
- ^ "A Second Look: The Planet of Junior Brown". The Horn Book Magazine. Media Source. January 8, 2015. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
- ^ Trites, Roberta Seelinger (March 1998). ""I double never ever never lie to my chil'ren": Inside People in Virginia Hamilton's Narratives". African American Review. 32 (1). Johns Hopkins University Press: 147–156. doi:10.2307/3042277. JSTOR 3042277.
- ^ Marilyn McEntyre (February 29, 2000). "The Planet of Junior Brown". medhum.med.nyu.edu. NYU School of Medicine. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
- ^ "Mark Twain Award Master List 1971-2008: Mark Twain Master List of Nominees 1971-2008" (PDF). maslonline.org. Mid-Continent Public Library. p. 41. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
- ^ "Horn Book Fanfare 1971". The Horn Book Magazine. Media Source. December 5, 1971. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
- ^ Deborah Kutenplon; Ellen Olmstead (1996). Young Adult Fiction By African American Writers, 1968-1993: A Critical and Annotated Guide. Garland Reference Library of the Humanities. p. 87.
- ^ "Newbery Medal and Honor Books, 1922-Present". ala.org. American Library Association. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
- ^ "The Planet of Junior Brown (Junior's Groove) (1997)". rottentomatoes.com. Fandango Media. Retrieved December 28, 2016.