Is life all about contests? That's the question Ellray Jakes is asking himself and the world.
Ellray wishes he could be special. His friend Jared's dad has an ATV with flames on it so Jared gets the cool factor. What does Ellray have? What's special in his family, in his world?
Ahh... there is its...some really cool crystals that belong to his geologist dad. When Ellray takes six crystals to school to share, he basks in the limelight and what a great feeling it is to get so much positive attention.
Then it happens. He gets trapped into giving away first one crystal and then another. He doesn't want to lose that good feeling but it's about to be replaced by another feeling when Dad comes home and finds out that his rocks are missing.
This is a great series of universal experiences, choices and feelings that visit just about all of us as we are growing up. In this case the hero happens to be African American. It can be hard to find good stories to mirror African American elementary aged boys. These have an authentic voice and a likable main character and would be enjoyed by fans of Jake Drake, Marvin Redpost, Martin Bridge. Ages 7-10
