The Moves Make the Man
Encyclopedia
The Moves Make The Man is a sports novel written by award-winning author Bruce Brooks
that deals with many issues in society including racism
, domestic violence
, abuse
, and family deaths. It was chosen best book of 1984 by School Library Journal
(SLJ), ALA Notable Children's Book, notable book of the year New York Times, and won the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award
and a Newbery Honor in 1985.
, in 1961. It is written in first person
and narrated by an African-American child named Jerome Foxworthy, who goes by the nickname of Jayfox. He is the only African American in his school, being forced to integrate. He covers the stories leading up to the relationship between him and a young white boy named Braxton Rivers III, otherwise known as Bix: about when he first saw him playing baseball, Bix's freaking out in Home Ec class, and teaching him basketball on a court in the woods at night. Braxton is a child who never says anything that is not a truth, which brings him problems others cannot understand, and eventually he runs away. The book covers problems happening in both his and Jerome's families.
This book was published by Harper & Row
.
Bix Braxton Rivers,The 'Friend' of Jerome. Bix could only tell the truth for most of the story, but he begins to play tricks after he finds how the truth hurt his mother and those around him. Bix loved baseball, but practiced basketball with Jerome and played his stepfather in order to win the right to see his mother in the mental hospital.
Bruce Brooks
Bruce Brooks is an American author of young adult and children's literature. - Background :Brooks, born in Richmond, Virginia, lived most of his young life in North Carolina as a result of parental divorce. Brooks credits moving around multiple times between the two locations with making him a...
that deals with many issues in society including racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
, domestic violence
Domestic violence
Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...
, abuse
Physical abuse
Physical abuse is abuse involving contact intended to cause feelings of intimidation, injury, or other physical suffering or bodily harm.-Forms of physical abuse:*Striking*Punching*Belting*Pushing, pulling*Slapping*Whipping*Striking with an object...
, and family deaths. It was chosen best book of 1984 by School Library Journal
School Library Journal
The School Library Journal is a monthly magazine with articles and reviews for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, with a focus on technology and multimedia. Reviews are included for preschool to 4th grade,...
(SLJ), ALA Notable Children's Book, notable book of the year New York Times, and won the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award
Boston Globe-Horn Book Award
The Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards were first presented by The Boston Globe and Horn Book Magazine in 1967. They are among the most prestigious honors in the United States in the field of children’s and young adult literature...
and a Newbery Honor in 1985.
Setting
The book is set in North Carolina around the time of the Civil Rights MovementCivil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
, in 1961. It is written in first person
First-person narrative
First-person point of view is a narrative mode where a story is narrated by one character at a time, speaking for and about themselves. First-person narrative may be singular, plural or multiple as well as being an authoritative, reliable or deceptive "voice" and represents point of view in the...
and narrated by an African-American child named Jerome Foxworthy, who goes by the nickname of Jayfox. He is the only African American in his school, being forced to integrate. He covers the stories leading up to the relationship between him and a young white boy named Braxton Rivers III, otherwise known as Bix: about when he first saw him playing baseball, Bix's freaking out in Home Ec class, and teaching him basketball on a court in the woods at night. Braxton is a child who never says anything that is not a truth, which brings him problems others cannot understand, and eventually he runs away. The book covers problems happening in both his and Jerome's families.
This book was published by Harper & Row
HarperCollins
HarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
.
Characters
Jerome Foxworthy The main character, and narrator of the story. Jerome is young, African American, and loves to play basketball. he is transferred to an all white public high school.Bix Braxton Rivers,The 'Friend' of Jerome. Bix could only tell the truth for most of the story, but he begins to play tricks after he finds how the truth hurt his mother and those around him. Bix loved baseball, but practiced basketball with Jerome and played his stepfather in order to win the right to see his mother in the mental hospital.