A Hero Ain't Nothin' but a Sandwich is a 1973 young adult novel by Alice Childress

Alice Childress

Alice Childress was an American playwright, actor, and author.-Early life:Childress was born in South Carolina, but at age nine, after her parents separated, she moved to Harlem where she lived with her grandmother on 118th Street, between Lenox Avenue and Fifth Avenue...

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Plot

The main character, Benjie Johnson, is a thirteen-year-old heroin addict. The chapters are told in alternating points of view by Benjie and those close to him, including friends, a drug dealer, his mother, his stepfather, his grandmother, and teachers. It was the first young adult novel to tackle the issue of heroin addiction.

Awards and nominations

A Hero Ain't Nothin' but a Sandwich won the ALA Best Young Adult Book of 1975, the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, and the Jane Addams Award for a young adult novel.

Film adaptation

The book was adapted into a film in 1978

A Hero Ain't Nothin' but a Sandwich (film)

A Hero Ain't Nothin' but a Sandwich is a 1978 film directed by Ralph Nelson. The screenplay was written by Alice Childress, based on her novel of the same name. It was shot on location in South Central Los Angeles. It was Nelson's last film before his death.-Synopsis:A Hero Ain't Nothin' but a...

 starring Cicely Tyson

Cicely Tyson

Cicely Tyson is an American actress. A successful stage actress, Tyson is also known for her Oscar-nominated role in the film Sounder and the television movies The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman and Roots....

 and Paul Winfield

Paul Winfield

Paul Edward Winfield was an American television, film, and stage actor. He was known for his portrayal of a Louisiana sharecropper who struggles to support his family during the Great Depression in the landmark film Sounder which earned him an Academy Award nomination. Winfield also portrayed Dr....

 and directed by Ralph Nelson

Ralph Nelson

Ralph Nelson was an American movie and television director, producer, writer, and actor.-Life and career:...

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