Diary of a Smart Black Kid: Sixth Grade: Smart Black Kid

By DAVID M TAYLOR II

Baron Winters is 11 years old. He's smart, black, and a geek. That means parents, bullies, and bullets. And girls. Can he navigate the dangerous waters of sixth grade? And are his struggles our own?

• Language: English
• Publisher: HODT BOOKS
• Release date: Jan 14, 2018
• ISBN: 9780988821682

Book preview

Table of Contents

So I almost got shot today – End of Summer Part 1

My house is a pulpit. Apparently.

The beach is a strange place – End of Summer Part 2

Puberty. Is there an opt-out button?

Math was invented by the devil.

My dad told me I thought I was white.

My teachers love me...so that means that the kids hate me.

Losing my virginity. iPass.

Phys Ed is where adults can legally humiliate us.

Ch-yeah! Three day holiday weekend!

Why do I turn into an idiot when I talk to girls?

The Vomit Monument

Oh, you’ve got good hair.

Learning my Second-second language.

Of course, me and my best friend read comics.

.....Aaaaand then Derek beat the crap out of me.

What kind of a name is ‘Baron,’ anyway?

Ouch. I thought shaving would be cool.

No...my diet is actually NOT an indicator of my intelligence.

Cutting farts pretty much define your social life.

Lunchtime AKA The Cafeteria is the Bane of My Existence

Ho ho ho.

Attack of the Cousins

It’s Tradition

Fire up the Converters

Starting my career as a writer.

No boy should ever have to wear new shoes to school.

Yeah this is awful from every angle.

Daydreaming

Hot Dog Hell

April belongs to Ollie.

No one likes the month of Maying. – Spring Concert Part 1

Please don’t make me sing in front of people. – Spring Concert Part 2

The Best News of My Life

The Moment of Truth

The Test Scores Arrive

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So I almost got shot today – End of Summer Part 1

AUGUST

Friday

So I almost got shot today. But I’ll get to the gun thing in a minute. See, I love summer bike riding in my hometown. It’s homey! Also. I might be using cycle therapy (see what I did there?)  to casually ignore the fact that it’s almost here.

It meaning, the test that will change my life.

Well ‘almost’ actually meaning springtime next year. Still. WOO HOO! Yeah, only geeks count days until tests. So color me count-y. There’s something happening in my life even sooner, however. That would be the Blessed Advent of Junior High School. And by ‘Blessed Advent’ I mean ‘yeah I’m scared brainless.’ Sixth grade is just a few days away. Sixth grade. In a few days. I need to do really well this year in school to even qualify for the test in the spring.

But in the meantime, I need to graze in every boy’s natural habitat: sweat! According to my mother every time I take a shower I’m wasting water and running up the electric bill. Haven’t figured that one out yet. But what I do know is that It’s August and that means bike riding ‘til it’s dark. Till dark, I tells ya! Also. Adults and kids have different definitions of ‘dark.’

Speaking of my hometown, it’s right outside Chicago. Lots of bike paths. Although I prefer riding in the streets. I probably shouldn’t tell my parents that I played chicken with a bus one time. Yeah maybe I’ll leave that out of our next dinner ‘So how was your day?’ discussion.

August is a funny month. I’m pretty sure it’s named after Augustus. Who was like, the first Roman emperor. And I know that more babies are born in August. My mind’s kind of buzzy like that, all funny factoid n’ thangs. Maybe that’s not one hundred percent true because my big sister Christina (she’s eighteen) was born in May and my big brother Zeke (he’s twenty-one, SO old) was born in December. But that was with dad’s first wife and not my mom so does that make the August thing totally bogue? Anyway. August is still like the last dance with summer, so it has all these really hot days. Maybe so you can like soak up some extra sunshine or heat or something because winter will make you forget all of this.

Then there’s Friday, which has to be, like, the best day of the week ever. It’s the only day of the week where’s there no downside. Like if candy were turned into a day. Because:

-No work the next day

-Allowance money comes

-Cartoons and pancakes all morning

-You can sleep until the sun stops talking

Also. Every single sleepover in the history of people has happened on