What if a school's mascot is seen as racist, but not by everyone? In this compelling middle-grade novel in verse, two best-selling BIPOC authors tackle this hot-button issue. Now in paperback!

A perfect book for future changemakers and activists seeking contemporary stories on systematic racism, empowering kids ages 10+ to fight for justice in their communities.


In Rye, Virginia, just outside Washington, DC, people work hard, kids go to school, and football is big on Friday nights. An eighth-grade English teacher creates an assignment for her class to debate whether Rye’s mascot should stay or change.

Now six middle schoolers—all with different backgrounds and beliefs—get involved in the contentious issue that already has the suburb turned upside down with everyone choosing sides and arguments getting ugly. 

Told from several perspectives, readers see how each student comes to new understandings about identity, tradition, and what it means to stand up for real change.

An empowering middle-grade novel, Mascot is sure to inspire its readers and start conversations in classrooms and communities across the country.

"Waters and Sorell's plain spoken verse is always sharp and direct."—The New York Times Book Review

  • A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2023
  • A New York Public Library Best Book of 2023
  • A National Public Radio "Books We Love" title of 2023
Charles Waters is a children’s poet, actor, educator, and coauthor of African Town; Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z; and the award-winning Can I Touch Your Hair? Poems of Race, Mistakes and Friendship. He lives near Atlanta. www.charleswaterspoetry.com

Best-selling author and Cherokee Nation citizen Traci Sorell writes inclusive, award-winning fiction and nonfiction in a variety of formats for young people. She is a two-time Sibert Medal and Orbis Pictus honoree for her nonfiction work. Her first five books have received awards from the American Indian Library Association. Learn more at www.tracisorell.com.

Discussion Guide for Mascot

Provides questions, discussion topics, suggested reading lists, introductions and/or author Q&As, which are intended to enhance reading groups’ experiences.

(Please note: the guide displayed here is the most recently uploaded version; while unlikely, any page citation discrepancies between the guide and book is likely due to pagination differences between a book’s different formats.)

  • NOMINEE | 2026
    Washington Evergreen Young Adult Book Award
  • NOMINEE | 2024
    Kentucky Bluegrass Award
  • AWARD | 2024
    Oklahoma Book Award
  • HONOR | 2024
    International Literacy Association
  • HONOR | 2024
    AILA - American Indian Youth Literature Award
  • SELECTION | 2024
    YALSA Best Books for Young Adults
  • SELECTION | 2024
    Texas Lone Star Reading List
  • SELECTION | 2024
    Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts
  • SELECTION | 2024
    CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young Readers
  • SELECTION | 2024
    CBC Awards & Honors
  • SELECTION | 2024
    Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year
  • HONOR | 2023
    Jane Addams Children's Book Award
  • SELECTION | 2023
    American Indians in Children's Literature Year in Review
  • HONOR | 2023
    Charlotte Huck Book Award
  • AWARD | 2023
    Nerdy Book Club Awards
  • FINALIST | 2023
    Cybils
  • SELECTION | 2023
    Cynsational Books
  • SELECTION | 2023
    CSMCL Best Books
  • SELECTION | 2023
    NPR Books We Love
  • SELECTION | 2023
    Indie Next
  • SELECTION | 2023
    Junior Library Guild Selection
  • SELECTION | 2023
    Kirkus Reviews Best Middle Grade Books
  • SELECTION | 2023
    Publishers Weekly Best Books
  • SELECTION | 2023
    Chicago Public Library Best Books
  • SELECTION | 2023
    New York Public Library Best Books for Kids
  • SELECTION | 2023
    Project Lit Book Club Pick
additional book photo
additional book photo
additional book photo

About

What if a school's mascot is seen as racist, but not by everyone? In this compelling middle-grade novel in verse, two best-selling BIPOC authors tackle this hot-button issue. Now in paperback!

A perfect book for future changemakers and activists seeking contemporary stories on systematic racism, empowering kids ages 10+ to fight for justice in their communities.


In Rye, Virginia, just outside Washington, DC, people work hard, kids go to school, and football is big on Friday nights. An eighth-grade English teacher creates an assignment for her class to debate whether Rye’s mascot should stay or change.

Now six middle schoolers—all with different backgrounds and beliefs—get involved in the contentious issue that already has the suburb turned upside down with everyone choosing sides and arguments getting ugly. 

Told from several perspectives, readers see how each student comes to new understandings about identity, tradition, and what it means to stand up for real change.

An empowering middle-grade novel, Mascot is sure to inspire its readers and start conversations in classrooms and communities across the country.

"Waters and Sorell's plain spoken verse is always sharp and direct."—The New York Times Book Review

  • A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2023
  • A New York Public Library Best Book of 2023
  • A National Public Radio "Books We Love" title of 2023

Author

Charles Waters is a children’s poet, actor, educator, and coauthor of African Town; Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z; and the award-winning Can I Touch Your Hair? Poems of Race, Mistakes and Friendship. He lives near Atlanta. www.charleswaterspoetry.com

Best-selling author and Cherokee Nation citizen Traci Sorell writes inclusive, award-winning fiction and nonfiction in a variety of formats for young people. She is a two-time Sibert Medal and Orbis Pictus honoree for her nonfiction work. Her first five books have received awards from the American Indian Library Association. Learn more at www.tracisorell.com.

Guides

Discussion Guide for Mascot

Provides questions, discussion topics, suggested reading lists, introductions and/or author Q&As, which are intended to enhance reading groups’ experiences.

(Please note: the guide displayed here is the most recently uploaded version; while unlikely, any page citation discrepancies between the guide and book is likely due to pagination differences between a book’s different formats.)

Awards

  • NOMINEE | 2026
    Washington Evergreen Young Adult Book Award
  • NOMINEE | 2024
    Kentucky Bluegrass Award
  • AWARD | 2024
    Oklahoma Book Award
  • HONOR | 2024
    International Literacy Association
  • HONOR | 2024
    AILA - American Indian Youth Literature Award
  • SELECTION | 2024
    YALSA Best Books for Young Adults
  • SELECTION | 2024
    Texas Lone Star Reading List
  • SELECTION | 2024
    Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts
  • SELECTION | 2024
    CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young Readers
  • SELECTION | 2024
    CBC Awards & Honors
  • SELECTION | 2024
    Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year
  • HONOR | 2023
    Jane Addams Children's Book Award
  • SELECTION | 2023
    American Indians in Children's Literature Year in Review
  • HONOR | 2023
    Charlotte Huck Book Award
  • AWARD | 2023
    Nerdy Book Club Awards
  • FINALIST | 2023
    Cybils
  • SELECTION | 2023
    Cynsational Books
  • SELECTION | 2023
    CSMCL Best Books
  • SELECTION | 2023
    NPR Books We Love
  • SELECTION | 2023
    Indie Next
  • SELECTION | 2023
    Junior Library Guild Selection
  • SELECTION | 2023
    Kirkus Reviews Best Middle Grade Books
  • SELECTION | 2023
    Publishers Weekly Best Books
  • SELECTION | 2023
    Chicago Public Library Best Books
  • SELECTION | 2023
    New York Public Library Best Books for Kids
  • SELECTION | 2023
    Project Lit Book Club Pick

Photos

additional book photo
additional book photo
additional book photo

Books for LGBTQIA+ Pride Month

In June we celebrate Pride Month, which honors the 1969 Stonewall riots in Manhattan and highlights the accomplishments of those in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual + (LGBTQIA+) community, while recognizing the ongoing struggles faced by many across the world who wish to live as their most authentic selves. Browse our

Read more

2024 Middle and High School Collections

The Penguin Random House Education Middle School and High School Digital Collections feature outstanding fiction and nonfiction from the children’s, adult, DK, and Grupo Editorial divisions, as well as publishers distributed by Penguin Random House. Peruse online or download these valuable resources to discover great books in specific topic areas such as: English Language Arts,

Read more

PRH Education High School Collections

All reading communities should contain protected time for the sake of reading. Independent reading practices emphasize the process of making meaning through reading, not an end product. The school culture (teachers, administration, etc.) should affirm this daily practice time as inherently important instructional time for all readers. (NCTE, 2019)   The Penguin Random House High

Read more

PRH Education Translanguaging Collections

Translanguaging is a communicative practice of bilinguals and multilinguals, that is, it is a practice whereby bilinguals and multilinguals use their entire linguistic repertoire to communicate and make meaning (García, 2009; García, Ibarra Johnson, & Seltzer, 2017)   It is through that lens that we have partnered with teacher educators and bilingual education experts, Drs.

Read more

Congratulations to our 2024 ALA Award Winners & Honorees

The American Library Association (ALA) announced their 2024 literary award winners and honorees during LibLearnX: The Library Learning Experience. Below you can find a selection of Penguin Random House titles that were among the winners.   Explore the collection of award winners and honorees here.   Alex Award  Bad Cree Chain Gang All Stars I

Read more