king and the dragonflies by kacen callender

Khalid would occasionally utter something profound in his sleep, like “You’re going to be fine” and “I love you, King”. (King and Khalid shared a bed and had no other siblings, so King really feels a bond with him. Shining a spotlight on this formation might make it harder for some to feel respected in their journey.)Ĥ) Why does King keep a notebook of things his brother has said in his asleep? (Eager for their own individuality, these students inadvertently added pressure to their peers at a time when identities are still being formed. Then the gossip mill starts about Sandy coming out as gay. Also, Mikey knows that his own brother is friends with King)ģ) At school, 12-year-old King and his classmates begin to hint about crushes they experience.

Mikey may have been at odds with King’s brother, but never wished him dead. _(Perhaps it is true that no one is all good or all bad we are all in the process of becoming someone. Why is Mikey motivated to extend his condolences to King? They are dainty, beautiful, winged creatures that represent transformation and self-realization)Ģ) In chapter one, there is a tense exchange between Mikey Sanders and King with an unexpected outcome. _(dragonflies in this story are nearly angelic. What characteristics of dragonflies made our author chose them? What do they symbolize? The Thing About Jellyfish meets The Stars Beneath Our Feet in this story about loss, grief, and finding the courage to discover one's identity, from the author of Hurricane Child.This entry was posted in Julie's DIYs on by Julie Martinġ) King believes his brother has become a dragonfly. As King's friendship with Sandy is reignited, he's forced to confront questions about himself and the reality of his brother's death. You don't want anyone to think you're gay too, do you?īut when Sandy goes missing, sparking a town-wide search, and King finds his former best friend hiding in a tent in his backyard, he agrees to help Sandy escape from his abusive father, and the two begin an adventure as they build their own private paradise down by the bayou and among the dragonflies. But just days before he died, Khalid told King to end their friendship, after overhearing a secret about Sandy-that he thinks he might be gay. It would be easier if King could talk with his best friend, Sandy Sanders. Khalid still visits in dreams, and King must keep these secrets to himself as he watches grief transform his family. When Khalid unexpectedly passed away, he shed what was his first skin for another to live down by the bayou in their small Louisiana town.

Twelve-year-old Kingston James is sure his brother Khalid has turned into a dragonfly. In a small but turbulent Louisiana town, one boy's grief takes him beyond the bayous of his backyard, to learn that there is no right way to be yourself. Winner of the 2020 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction and Poetry! Winner of the 2020 National Book Award for Young People's Literature!

King and the dragonflies by kacen callender