| Italic Title: | (see above) |
| The Jacket | |
| Author: | Andrew Clements |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Subject: | Racism |
| Genre: | Children's fiction |
| Published: | 2001, Boston Globe (serialization) 2003, Atheneum Books |
| Media Type: | Print, ebook |
| Pages: | 89 pages |
| Isbn: | 0756914345 |
The Jacket is a 2001 children's book by author Andrew Clements.[1] It was first published in 2001 as a serialized story that ran in the Boston Globe and was later published in book format on August 1, 2003 through Atheneum Books.[2] [3] The work centers upon a young boy that discovers that although he doesn't identify as racist or discriminatory, he does have deep-seated and unconscious prejudices that prompt him to immediately suspect the worst about a black student at his school.
Clements based the book's premise around a similar situation that occurred in his life, where his brother mistakenly believed that an African-American boy had stolen his jacket and confronted him over the theft. Since its release, the book has been utilized in classrooms as a way to illustrate different types of racism.[4]
Schoolboy Phil has never viewed himself as racist, but he's forced to rethink his stance when he accuses Daniel of stealing an imported jacket. Daniel, who is African-American, was given the jacket as a gift by his grandmother, who works for Phil's mother as a housekeeper and had received the jacket as a hand-me-down. Phil immediately begins to rethink his actions, wondering if he would have treated the situation differently if Daniel had been white instead of black. Tortured by self-doubt, Phil looks at his immediate surroundings and is saddened when he realizes that he has likely been influenced by his father, who is openly bigoted.
Critical reception was mostly positive.[5] [6] [7] Publishers Weekly praised The Jacket, commenting that while the book lacked subtlety, it "pointedly delivers a timely message and can serve as a springboard for dialogue about tolerance and self-honesty".[8]