dance

exercise

read books

write poems

follow hockey

She finds the joke funny.

She thinks the joke is stupid.

She finds the joke unpleasant.

She has heard the joke too often.

She refuses to take an afternoon nap.

She is too busy for an afternoon nap.

She greatly desires to take an afternoon nap.

She is about to wake up from an afternoon nap.

feared

graceful

admired

expensive

He is embarrassed to be reading books that are too young for him.

He does not want the neighborhood boys to see that he likes reading.

He is unable to afford his own books, so the librarians give him

bags of library books to take home.

He does not want Dorothy to find any of his books because she would probably take them away from him.

Sometimes on rainy days I would sit in the library and read. The librarians always suggested books that were too young for me, but I still went on a regular basis.

I could never have afforded to buy the books and was pleased to have the library with its free supply.

Dorothy Dodson, daughter of the Wicked Witch, read books, and I knew she did, but she couldn’t stand me and was more than happy to tell me so on a number of occasions.

When I brought a book home from the library, I would sometimes run into older kids who would tease me about my reading.

He discovers that he has a talent for writing poetry.

He faces up to his friends and tells them about his love of reading.

He becomes interested in Lorelle Henry, the dancing girl from the

gym.

He decides to pursue another secret interest, despite his friends’ disapproval.

I was very comfortable being a boy, but there were times when the role was uncomfortable.

When the girls had finished their dancing, they went through some stretching exercises. A teenager, Lorelle Henry, was leading the group, and she was pretty, so we sent a few woo-woos her way.

They danced to music as a poem was being read.

I liked dancing, too, but I had to pretend that I didn’t like it. No big deal. I was already keeping reading and writing poems a secret; I would just add dancing.

Boys should not be encouraged to play basketball or other sports.

Reading is the most interesting and rewarding activity for boys.

Boys should be allowed to pursue whatever interests them.

Writing poetry and dancing are “girl” activities.

There were two categories of friends in my life: those with whom I played ball and everyone else. Athletes were highly respected in the black community, and boys my age were encouraged to play some sport.

With school out and me not having access to Mrs. Conway’s cache of books, I rediscovered the George Bruce Branch of the public library on 125th Street. Sometimes on rainy days I would sit in the library and read.

That year I learned that being a boy meant that I was supposed to do certain things and act in a certain way. I was very comfortable being a boy, but there were times when the role was uncomfortable.

Then we saw that the girls were doing some kind of dance, so we imitated them, cracking ourselves up.

If you organize your friends into categories, you might lose them.

People often have sides of themselves that they do not let others see.

Making fun of people in “harmless” ways can have lasting negative effects

Playing sports can build character, but not when a person is pressured to play

Most of the girls I knew couldn’t play ball, and that excluded them from most of what I wanted to do with my life.

I didn’t want to fight about books. Books were special and said something about me that I didn’t want to reveal.

We often played ball in the church gym, and one rainy day, along with my brother Mickey and some of “my guys,” I went to the gym.

A teenager, Lorelle Henry, was leading the group, and she was pretty, so we sent a few woo-woos her way.

With school out and me not having access to Mrs. Conway’s cache of books, I rediscovered the George Bruce Branch of the public library on 125th Street.

The librarians always suggested books that were too young for me, but I still went on a regular basis.

Away from books I was, at times, almost desperate to fill up the spaces of my life. Books filled those spaces for me.

I began taking a brown paper bag to the library to bring my books

home in.

There wasn’t any ice to skate on in Harlem, so I gave up hockey.

Most of the girls I knew couldn’t play ball, and that excluded them from most of what I wanted to do with my life.

…I would sometimes run into older kids who would tease me about my reading. It was, they made it clear, not what boys did.

When the girls had finished their dancing, they went through some stretching exercises.

I liked dancing, too, but I had to pretend I didn’t like it.