Download book the crossover by author kwame alexander in pdf epub. Hes been publishing poetry since the early 1990s but didnt turn to writing verse novels like the crossover until the late 2000s. The national award and its public presentation celebrate poetry for young people. Contemporary realistic fiction about the author kwame alexander is a poet, educator, and the new york times bestselling author. The crossover, by kwame alexander the new york times. The crossover is destined to reachand touchreaders who never gave basketball or poetry a second thought until now. Josh bell is a talented middle school basketball player, as is his twin brother jordan.
This month, we examine 2015 newbery medal winner, the crossover by kwame alexander. Apr 03, 2016 kwame alexander writes books that bend genres novels about middle school boys, written not in prose but verse. The crossover author to receive lee bennett hopkins. The crossover the crossover series hardcover politics and. Josh has many identities in this bookson, brother, basketball player, poet, and friend. The crossover by kwame alexander is an energetic, engaging and emotional. Basketball rules teach life lessons, and the story introduces and defines new vocabulary words. Right from the start, kwame alexanders new book, the crossover, looks, sounds and even feels different. The crossovers narrator, josh bell, captures the highs and lows of adolescence through vivid descriptions of heartpounding threepointers and monotonous. Apr 02, 2018 books dribble, fake, shoot, miss, dribble, fake, shoot, swish the basketball poetry of kwame alexander the newbery awardwinning poet and author is back with a new book, rebound. It refers to a basketball move described in the first vocabulary poem as well as to spoiler alert the death of the boys father. Extended book trailer for the crossover by kwame alexander duration. His book the crossover won the newbery medal last year for.
There is a traffic stop on the way to a game, in which the boys father like many an africanamerican man is pulled. The crossover is a 2015 childrens book by american author kwame alexander and the winner. How kwame alexander hooks kids on poetry mother jones. Its such a fresh story with twin 12 year old boy protagonists who love playing basketball and are growing up and maybe apart as they cope with middle school, girls, and the expectations of their parents. Middle school boys and basketball, and, well, why not poetry. They learned from their dad, chuck da man, who played in. Its about a junior high school kid, josh aka filthy and his parents and twin brother, jordan j. They come together in the crossover, a novel in verse about twin brothers obsessed with basketball. Kwame alexander tells a timeless story and captures a new audience using an unlikely formatpoetry. The crossover tells the story of a 12yearold basketball player through a series of funny and sad poems. It is the perfect title for a student who loves sports or music, but is struggling to find a book to enjoy.
National book award finalist kate dicamillo reads from ramie nightingale. The book, which is told entirely through verse, was first published in the united states in hardback on march 18, 2014 through hmh books for young readers. Aug 01, 2016 yall, if you have not yet read kwame alexanders the crossover, do yourself a favor and pick it up now. In fact, it is alexanders genius use of multiple poetic styles that makes what could have been a hohum plot line a riveting and personal encounter with a family dealing with modern day issues. Its tough, muscular writing about a tender, unguarded heart. Alexander reads an excerpt from the crossover youtube. Original title isbn 9780544107717 published on 2014318. Josh is the identical twin brother of jordan jb bell, the son of crystal bell, the. May 11, 2014 the crossover doesnt ignore contemporary issues involving race. The crossover study guide contains a biography of kwame alexander, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.
Josh and his twin brother jordan are awesome on the court. Mar 11, 2020 download book the crossover by author kwame alexander in pdf epub. This powerful novel in verse paints an authentic portrait of a closelyknit family on the brink of crisis. Engage and inspire your children through poetry and literature with powerful insight from awardwinning author kwame alexander and some of his friends. These short videos and quick lessons offer a practical and fun way to teach and learn at home. Childrens, fiction, middle grade, poetry, realistic fiction, sports, young adult.
The title of this book the crossover is an important phrase and idea throughout the book. It was important to alexander that the poetry in the crossover visually expressed how the words should sound and be heard. The crossover doesnt ignore contemporary issues involving race. The hardcover book has the texture and orange color of a basketball. Speaking about his book the crossover, kwame alexander says, i felt that poetry would mirror the energy, the movement, the pulse of a basketball game the best. May 01, 2020 kwame alexander, author of the crossover, will receive the 2015 lee bennett hopkins poetry award at a presentation on thursday, oct. Combining beautiful prose with poetry that jumps off the page, alexander tells the story of twin thirteen year basketball players jordan and josh bell in a manner that makes reading fun for middle grade kids. Come in to read stories and fanfics that span multiple fandoms in the book universe.
Inside, words change in size from one line to the next and sometimes drop diagonally across the page. Kwame alexander tells a timeless story and captures a new audience using an unlikely format poetry. But both brothers must come to grips with growing up, on and. Hes stated in interviews that his middlegrade verse novels are intended to bridge the gap between shel silverstein and shakespeare, as well as encourage reluctant readers to read. Tell students to watch for the use of the phrase and talk about how it can be understood in each of the poems. Kwames attempt to offer true diversity of verse drives his goal to hook young, reluctant readers into falling in love with a book. The crossover poetss tracks a million thoughts by the crossover poets published on 20170318t08. Have you gotten that feeling when you run so fast you can feel the wind against your face, legs, and your whole body.
Kwame alexander writes books that bend genres novels about middle school boys, written not in prose but verse. Josh bell is a talented middle school basketball player, as is his twin brother jordan read more. They learned from their dad, chuck da man, who played in the euroleague before retiring from the game. After reading the crossover, a novel in verse that is rich in character and relationships, facilitate a dialogue around kwame alexanders awardwinning text. The hero of the crossover is a tall 12yearold named josh bell, who offers up the story of his life in a series of poems that are sometimes fresh and funny, sometimes sad and painful, but. The first edition of the novel was published in march 18th 2014, and was written by kwame alexander.
This book had everything they were looking for basketball, girls, family, and. The crossover study guide literature guide litcharts. Kwame alexanders the crossover won both the newberry and coretta scott. Others expectations of you are determined by their limitations of life. Kwame alexanders the crossover is the story of josh and jordan, kings on the court, with crossovers that make even the toughest ballers cry. It won the 2015 newbery medal and a coretta scott king book honor, and may inspire a discussion about healthy lifestyle choices and. It could be used in class during a read aloud, book club or individual reading. Kwame alexanders the crossover won both the newberry and coretta scott king awards for childrens literature in 2014. Hes stated in interviews that his middlegrade verse novels are intended to bridge the gap between shel silverstein and shakespeare, as.
The crossover is a verse novel that, in my opinion, is a new classic. Kwame alexander tells the story of josh, his family, and basketball through poetry. Alexander fully captures joshs athletic finesse and comingofage angst in a mix of free verse and hiphop poetry that will have broad appeal. Free download or read online the crossover pdf epub book.
Kwame believes that poetry can change the world and he uses it. See more ideas about crossover, teaching poetry and teaching. Bookpage alexanders at the top of his poetic game in this taut, complex tale of the crossover from brash, vulnerable boy to young adult. Kwame alexander wins newbery medal with basketball tale the. No matter how good you are, no matter how down you get.
Dribble, fake, shoot, miss, dribble, fake, shoot, swish. Pdf the crossover book by kwame alexander free download. Apr 09, 2015 decoding the newbery is a monthly column in which newbery medal winners are examined and deconstructed by regular contributor and author catherine faris king. Download an educators guide to the 2015 newbery medalwinning book the crossover by kwame alexander. Alexanders poems vary from the pulsing, aggressive beats of a basketball game my shot is f l o w i n g, flying. Its such a fresh story with twin 12 year old boy protagonists who love playing basketball and are growing up and maybe apart as they cope with. The crossover by kwame alexander consists of poems finding nothing but net. Divided into six sections, the crossover is intentionally comprised of different types of poetry including free verse, haiku, list poems, rap and rhyme. Aug 22, 2014 connects with youtube videos of sports and music figures in the book, looks at the role of rules in the novel, showcases various forms and types of poetry that are included, and examines the crossover themes. Ode to rf by the crossover poets published on 20160125t22. Poets novel turns young sports lovers into book lovers. Hes got mad beats too, beats that tell his familys story in verse.
Poet alexander deftly reveals the power of the format to pack an emotional punch. New basketball book the crossover puts poetry in motion. Nerdy book club nerdies 2016 poetry novels in verse new york times bestseller san francisco chronicle best of 2016 washington post best of 2016 bookpage best of 2016 a novel about a soccerobsessed tween boy written entirely in verse. As we crossover from summer to backtoschool, i want to encourage you to put crossover, a novel in verse by kwame alexander on your mustshare list for the new school year particularly if you work with kids in 4th 8th grade.
Isabella by the crossover poets published on 20160125t21. Parents need to know that author and poet kwame alexanders the crossover is a poignant novel in verse that mixes basketball, family, and comingofage themes and includes serious issues regarding adult health and a parents lifethreatening condition. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 240 pages and is available in ebook format. New basketball book the crossover puts poetry in motion the. The crossover is a young adult novel by kwame alexander that follows the life experiences of 12yearold basketball player josh bell across several months in the autumn and early winter of his seventhgrade year at reggie lewis middle school. Mar 21, 2016 it was important to alexander that the poetry in the crossover visually expressed how the words should sound and be heard. The story follows two africanamerican twin brothers that share a love for basketball but. Newbery award 2015, correta scott king award 2015 focus.
Feb 03, 2015 kwame alexanders the crossover is the story of josh and jordan, kings on the court, with crossovers that make even the toughest ballers cry. Kwame alexander, author of the crossover, will receive the 2015 lee bennett hopkins poetry award at a presentation on thursday, oct. Verse novels are books that tell the story in narrative poetry. The crossover is a 2015 childrens book by american author kwame alexander and the winner of the 2015 newbery medal and coretta scott king award honor. The mix of poetry forms, written in joshs bold, yet realistic voice will speak to readers of all ages. The crossover is a novel in verse about brotherhood and basketball. Kwame alexander has the magic to pull off this unlikely feat, both as a poet and as a storyteller. This novel in verse is rich in character and relationships. Kwame alexander wins newbery medal with basketball tale. This book had everything they were looking for basketball, girls, family, and poetry have i mentioned. Its the same vibe the 12yearold protagonist of his newbery medalwinning 2014 novelinverse, the crossover, exudes on the basketball court. May 12, 2017 this book, written in verse, exposes more students to a different side of poetry, transcending conventional parameters to convey the soaring, sweeping, fastpaced movement of the basketball court. The poems dodge and weave with the speed of a point guard driving for the basket, mixing basketball action with vocabularythemed poems, newspaper clippings. June 26, 2018 the crossover by kwame alexander literary awards.
In this game of life your family is the court and the ball is your heart. In booklist, gail bush called the crossover a rare verse novel that is fundamentally poetic rather than using this writing trend as a device. In this middle grade novel told in dynamic verse, twelveyearold twin basketball stars josh and jordan wrestle with highs and lows on and off the court as their father ignores his declining health. Yall, if you have not yet read kwame alexanders the crossover, do yourself a favor and pick it up now. The crossover author to receive lee bennett hopkins poetry. In my book the crossover by kwame alexander, one of th. Decoding the newbery is a monthly column in which newbery medal winners are examined and deconstructed by regular contributor and author catherine faris king.
The main characters of this poetry, young adult story are josh bell, jordan bell. Its author, kwame alexander, aims to reach a wide variety of readers, including reluctant ones, through sports stories that are really about family, love, and friendship. At times he likes his nickname filthy mcnasty, but at other times he wants to be called josh. This book was on our schools summer reading list, and many of my boys were excited to see it. Poets novel turns young sports lovers into book lovers pbs. Books dribble, fake, shoot, miss, dribble, fake, shoot, swish the basketball poetry of kwame alexander the newbery awardwinning poet and author is back with a new book, rebound.
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