Reycraft Books Presents Rob Sanders’s Powerful Novel, Blood Brothers
The middle-grade verse novel takes on fear, prejudice, and injustice in a story set at the dawn of the AIDS epidemic.
New Rochelle, NY, Sept. 30, 2022—Leading children’s trade publisher Reycraft Books is proud to present the novel Blood Brothers, from author Rob Sanders, originally published in hardcover on July 28, 2022. Blood Brothers is the first middle-grade novel by Sanders, who has written numerous acclaimed picture books, including Bling Blaine: Throw Glitter, Not Shade and Rodzilla. Other children’s books by Sanders have spotlighted LGBQTIA+ themes and social activism, including Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag, Stonewall: A Building. An Uprising. A Revolution, Peaceful Fights for Equal Rights, Stitch by Stitch: Cleve Jones and the AIDS Memorial Quilt, and A Song for the Unsung: Bayard Rustin, The Man Behind the 1963 March on Washington (co-authored with Carole Boston Weatherford).
Blood Brothers is set in early 1980s America and tells the story of 12-year-old Calvin Johnston and his brothers, all of whom have hemophilia at a time when the AIDS epidemic is in its beginning stages. The brothers have contracted HIV through tainted blood transfusions, and when their secret gets out in their Florida community—which is billed as the “Friendliest Little Town” in the state—they experience hate, prejudice, and ostracism. Fortunately for Calvin, his best friend Izzy lives 65 miles away and is unaware of the situation. But news—like HIV—has a way of spreading.
How long before Izzy finds out? As Calvin faces the possibility that he could lose a close friend because of his secret, he and his brothers must cope with the fact that they are literally in a fight for their lives. Told in raw, honest verse, Blood Brothers is a timeless story about a struggle against intolerance and a boy’s effort to make sense of the senseless, armed only with hope.
“My writing is influenced by social injustice and learning the history of the LGBTQ+ community. Both have helped me find my purpose and my voice,” Sanders said in a statement. “I hope to tell compelling stories that can introduce readers to people, events, and history that they may otherwise never hear about. I’m glad to add these untold or under-told stories to the canon of kidlit. I believe that readers of all ages can benefit from reading stories that introduce them to a larger world and the people who make up that world. Hopefully my books will not only introduce readers to the topics I address, but will also encourage them to dig deeper and learn more.”
Blood Brothers has earned praise from acclaimed authors including Jane Yolen, Carole Boston Weatherford, Lesléa Newman, and Shannon Hitchcock. Yolen, author of Owl Moon and The Devil’s Arithmetic, called the book a “startling, moving, powerhouse of a verse novel [that] should be read by every middle grader and YA reader in the U.S., actually in the world.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Rob Sanders is known for his funny and fierce fiction and nonfiction picture books and is recognized as one of the pioneers in the arena of LGBTQIA+ literary nonfiction picture books. His nonfiction books continue to break new ground, including the first picture books about the Pride Flag, the Stonewall Uprising, a transgender Civil War soldier, a gay presidential candidate, and the first gay marriage in America. Sanders’s fiction explores friendship, relationships, standing up for others, and being allies.
Sanders taught, coached, and mentored children and fellow teachers in Hillsborough County, Florida, for 17 years before taking an early retirement from the classroom in 2020 to write full-time. He continues to teach and mentor adult writers through The Writing Barn, Highlights Foundation, and as a co-regional advisor for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Florida, and is a frequent speaker, teacher, mentor, and coach.
Weatherford, who received the Coretta Scott King Award for her book, Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre, described it as “hard-hitting and heart-rending.” Newman, author of October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard, declared Blood Brothers “an astonishing book. A beautiful book. A necessary book. . . . This book has the power to change hearts, minds, and lives. I loved every word of it.” Hitchcock, author of Flying Over Water and One True Way, said the book “will break your heart in all the right places and leave you a more compassionate human being.”
ABOUT REYCRAFT BOOKS: Reycraft Books partners with award-winning and up-and-coming authors and illustrators, primarily from underrepresented communities, to provide high-quality books that delight, inform, and honor the voice and vision of all children. Founded in 2019, the imprint publishes authentic stories—engaging picture books, chapter books, middle grade books, graphic novels, and more—that build knowledge, perspective, and connection, meeting the diverse needs of children, families, and educators.