The Oxboy

An ALA Notable Book: A contemporary tale of mythic proportions
Once upon a time, humans and animals lived together in perfect harmony. Each species was respected for its own particular strength, knowledge, and wisdom.
The Oxboy has a human mother and an ox father. But human society has now decided that this is unnatural and degrading. He and other children like him must keep their identities secret. But when the Oxboy is given a certificate covered with names-those of his ancestors-he knows that he must learn more about this half of his heritage: the ox half. The forbidden half. What follows is a striking journey to self-discovery.
Anne Mazer's unforgettable tale reminds us of the dangers of prejudice and the importance of compassion.

Anne Mazer grew up in a family of writers in upstate New York. Intending to be an artist, she enrolled in Syracuse University's College of Visual and Performing Arts before moving to Paris, where she would live for three years, studying French language and literature and beginning to write.
Mazer is the author of forty-four books for children and adults. Her seven novels include The Salamander Room, a Reading Rainbowfeature selection and a 1993 ABC Children's Choice; Moose Street, a Booklist Editors' Choice for best book of 1992; and The Oxboy, an ALA Notable Book and a 1993 Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies. Mazer's short stories have been included in a number of collections, and she has published her own book of short stories, A Sliver of Glass. She is also the editor of several anthologies that are widely used in classrooms from the elementary through the college level.
Mazer's many books for young readers include the bestselling Amazing Days of Abby Hayes series, which has extended over eleven years and twenty-two books, and the Sister Magic series. Her latest work, coauthored with Ellen Potter, is Spilling Ink: A Young Writer's Handbook, which was a CLA Notable Children's Book in the Language Arts in 2011 and a 2010 Cybils Award finalist.