''A Hero Ain't Nothin' but a Sandwich'' is a 1973 young adult novel by American author

Alice Childress Alice Childress (October 12, 1916 – August 14, 1994) was an American novelist, playwright, and actress, acknowledged as "the only African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic ...

Plot

Benjie is a 13-year-old, living in the urban ghetto of the 1970s, who succumbs to the allure of

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...

. Encouraged by his friends, Benjie gets hooked on the dangerous monster that is slowly dictating his life. Everyone is urging him to stop but he cannot, as he is addicted to the drug. He disdains his counselors and teachers. After a final confrontation with his stepfather, he promises to quit.

Awards and nominations

''A Hero Ain't Nothin' but a Sandwich'' won an

ALA Ala, ALA, Alaa or Alae may refer to: Places * Ala, Hiiu County, Estonia, a village * Ala, Valga County, Estonia, a village * Ala, Alappuzha, Kerala, India, a village * Ala, Iran, a village in Semnan Province * Ala, Gotland, Sweden * Alad, S ...

Coretta Scott King Award The Coretta Scott King Award is an annual award presented by the Ethnic & Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table, part of the American Library Association (ALA). Named for Coretta Scott King, wife of Martin Luther King Jr., this award rec ...

honor, the

Lewis Carroll Shelf Award The Lewis Carroll Shelf Award was an American literary award conferred on several books annually by the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Education annually from 1958 to 1979. Award-winning books were deemed to "belong on the same shelf" ...

, and the Jane Addams Award for a young adult novel.

Reception

Ed Bullins in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' commented: "This surprisingly exciting, entertaining book demystifies the pusher and the problem he sells by centering on the unwitting victim, Benjie, and the disintegration of a black family. With their own voices the people in this story tell the truths of their lives. The writer uses her considerable dramatic talents to expose a segment of society seldom spoken of above a whisper; she exposes the urban disease that hides behind the headlines of drug abuse, the child junkies, drug rehabilitation programs and the problem of sheer survival in the black urban community." ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'' called the novel "An unusually honest and forceful novel, told in trenchant language by a variety of people concerned with thirteen year-old Benjie."

Censorship

In 1975, the book was removed from high school library shelves by the board of education of the

Island Trees Union Free School District Island Trees Union Free School District is a school district in central Nassau County on Long Island, approximately 31 miles east of New York City. The district includes parts of the following hamlets; Levittown, Bethpage, Plainedge, and Seaf ...

in New York. This case became the subject of a U.S. Supreme Court case in 1982.

Film adaptation

The book was adapted into a film in 1977 starring

Cicely Tyson Cicely Louise Tyson (December 19, 1924January 28, 2021) was an American actress. In a career which spanned more than seven decades in film, television and theatre, she became known for her portrayal of strong African-American women. Tyson recei ...

and

Paul Winfield Paul Edward Winfield (May 22, 1939 – March 7, 2004) was an American stage, film and television actor. He was known for his portrayal of a Louisiana sharecropper who struggles to support his family during the Great Depression in the landmark fi ...

and directed by

Ralph Nelson Ralph Nelson (August 12, 1916 – December 21, 1987) was an American film and television director, producer, writer, and actor. He was best known for directing '' Lilies of the Field'' (1963), '' Father Goose'' (1964), and ''Charly'' (1968) ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hero Ain't Nothin' but a Sandwich 1970 American novels Novels about heroin addiction American young adult novels African-American young adult novels American novels adapted into films African-American novels Coward-McCann books Censored books