Jelani's Key

"Dramatic, daring, and authentic, Jelani's Key is a page-turning epic chock full of culture, history, and all the things that will enlighten and inspire young readers."

-Kwame Alexander, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of The Door of No Return Trilogy

Ta-Ta was now among the ancestors. But he left his grandson, Jelani, a golden key and a note bearing a cryptic riddle-"find Karakhamun." Mourning his late grandfather, and with little else to go on, now 11-year-old Jelani must set off on his own to fulfill Ta-Ta's mysterious wishes.

His quest will put him on a collision course with a legendary neighborhood bully and immerse him in a mind-bending overnight challenge that, if navigated successfully, will unveil his grandfather's true legacy and change Jelani's life forever.

"Jelani's Key is a coming-of-age story about loving relationships between a boy and his father and grandfather, his newfound friend and their Jegna who takes them on a journey of cultural discovery. It is also a profoundly important story about the intergenerational transference of knowledge and the restoration and preservation of ancestral and cultural history.

D. Amari Jackson has a knack for writing novels with positive male role models of African descent which also includes lessons in math, science, mysteries, and history skillfully interwoven into the narrative. I trust that as young Black boys read Jelani's Key they will aspire to become thoughtful men who appreciate the power of brotherhood, reverence for their ancestors, and understand that they are the inheritors of a cultural legacy they are obligated to preserve and pass on to their descendants."

-Anthony T. Browder, Author, and Director of the ASA Restoration Project

"Jelani's Key is a literary and cultural rite of passage for African American middle-graders, both female and male. D. Amari Jackson has managed to carry a real-life phenomenon from ancient Egypt across the endless sands to our urban youth in America using the power of story."

-Stephanie Robinson, Harvard Law Lecturer, Author, and Former Political Commentator for the Tom Joyner Morning Show

"Poignant, magical, funny, adventurous... Jelani's Key is a story for our times, one celebrating the promise of our children and recognizing just how high, regardless of where they come from, they can fly."

-Charisse Carney-Nunes, Author, Speaker & Education Advocate

"Jelani's Key satisfies the demand for books that make Black boys the hero of the story. D. Amari Jackson is a skilled storyteller whose prose allows the reader to escape into the pages of the book."

-Vanesse Lloyd-Sgambati, owner, The Literary Cafe Books & Events Bookstore