Night Golf

By William Miller, Cedric Lucas
Paperback: $11.95

Set in the South of the late 1950s, an African American boy who longs to play golf is banned from the game because of the color of his skin.

Description

James loves sports, but he’s too short for basketball and too small for football. However, he finds an old golf club one day, and quickly realizes that golf comes naturally to him.

When James goes to the town’s golf course to learn more about the game, he discovers that only white people can play. In fact, African Americans are allowed onto the course only as caddies, carrying the heavy bags. Thinking fast on his feet, James applies to become a caddy.

James is worried that he’ll never get to play. Then he meets another African American caddy and learns that there is a way: to play at night.

Based on the true stories of many African American golfers of the late 1950s, Night Golf reveals a little-known part of American sports history. It is also a timely reminder that the love of the game was once hard-won by some before it was enjoyed by many.

About the Creators

William Miller

William Miller is the award-winning author of numerous books for children for Lee & Low. Mr. Miller lives in York, Pennsylvania, where he teaches African American literature and creative writing at York College.

Cedric Lucas

Cedric Lucas is the illustrator of Night Golf and Frederick Douglass: The Last Day of Slavery (Lee & Low, 1995). He is also a contributing illustrator to America: My Land, Your Land, Our Land. He teaches art to middle school students in Bronx, NY, and lives in Yonkers, New York, with his wife and their two children.

Awards

  • Notable Books for a Global Society

    International Literacy Association (ILA)

  • Best Children's Books of the Year

    Bank Street College of Education

  • CCBC Choices

    Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)

Reviews

  • "The story of James's perseverance to overcome prejudice rings true."

    - School Library Journal
  • "Set in the 1950s, this inspiring picture book stars an African American boy whose love of golf helps him rise above the racial prejudice that would keep him off the links."

    - Publishers Weekly
  • "Miller and Lucas gracefully light up an obscure corner of sports history with this tale of a young African American finding his way around a racial barrier."

    - Kirkus Reviews
  • "Crisply written by William Miller. . . [the] premise is certainly credible, and is made even stronger when he frames it with an introduction and epilogue that describe the plight, and the subsequent advances, of black golfers in the last 100 years. The lessons of perseverance and pragmatism come through clearly and are nicely underscored by Cedric Lucas's impressionistic pastel-and-colored-pencil illustrations, which tell the story simply."

    - The New York Times

Paperback

  • ISBN 9781584300564
  • Publication Date May 01, 1999
  • Trim Size 11 × 8.5 × 1 in
  • Weight 0.4375 lbs
  • Page Count 32
  • Word Count 1751
  • Hardcover

  • ISBN 9781880000793
  • Publication Date May 01, 1999
  • Trim Size N/A
  • Weight 0.875 lbs
  • Page Count 32
  • Word Count 1751
  • Interests

  • Audience Children
  • BISAC Category 1 JUV / Sports & Recreation / Golf
  • BISAC Category 2 JUV / People & Places / United States / African American
  • BISAC Category 3 JUV / Social Themes / Prejudice & Racism
  • Themes African / African American / Black, Childhood Experiences and Memories, Civil Rights Movement, Collaboration, Discrimination, Dreams & Aspirations, Fiction, Friendship, History & Civics, Identity / Self Esteem / Confidence, Mentors, Overcoming Obstacles, Persistence / Grit, Realistic Fiction, Sports, Sports History, United States History
  • Reading Levels

  • Age Range Ages 7 - 10
  • Grade Range Grades 2 - 5
  • Guided Reading R
  • ATOS Book Level 3.3
  • DRA 40
  • Interest Level Grades 2 - 5
  • Lexile Level 550
  • Reading Level Grades 2 - 3
  • SRC 3.5
  • Bebop Reading Fluent
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