Black Boy
Khemnu is a giant planet made of black obsidian stone located on the edge of the Andromeda Galaxy. Husani is the 9-year-old Prince of Khemnu who is smothered by his protective parents, but when they sleep, he ventures out on his own. Now that he has explored all Khemnu, it is time to travel space.
In another galaxy on a planet in the Milky Way Galaxy lives another black boy named Darius Reed. He attends 4th grade in an elementary school where the children tease him about the shade of his skin. Then one miraculous day, a spaceship, piloted by Husani, crashes on Earth. Not soon after, Darius and the alien meet. It doesn’t take long for the two boys to bond.
Unfortunately, Husani is captured by a reprehensible organization led by Mr. White, an evil man. He tries to get Husani to reveal the secrets of his spaceship so Mr. White can become rich. He sets up a deal with the President of the United States to turn over one trillion dollars for the alien and his spacecraft. Will Darius be able to save him?
Author Ahmet Khalil does a superb job of world building and creating a child’s novel that 4th grade children can easily relate to. Children will learn powerful lessons about self-esteem, cultural pride, and the beauty of diversity.
If I was still teaching elementary school, I’d make sure Black Boy stood prominently in my classroom library.
