An eminently satisfying story of family, recovery, and growing into manhood. It was also selected as an honor book for the coretta scott king award. The entire book is written, except where noted, in blank verse. Nick hall is a bright eighthgrader who would rather do anything other than pay attention in class. This is a student workbook designed to accompany booked by kwame alexander s novel, booked. This is not because of the overly spectacular events in the tale, but because of the magical use of poetry in telling an otherwise unremarkable story. Rebound is set when charlie was a kid and he went through some tough times. Once again, kwame alexander has outdone himself with his wonderful use of words and unique poetry style, to write a book about the coming of age of an eighth grade boy. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. He conducts creative writing workshops in middle and high schools, often reaching more than five hundred students monthly. Created by pbs book view now watch the video share. In this middle grade novelinverseby the newbery medalwinning and coretta scott king honor awardwinningauthor ofthe crossover, atwelveyearold, soccerloving boy namednick, absolutely hates books. Booked asks tweens to consider the idea that being smart. In booked, alexander presents the reader with nick hall, a gifted student and soccer player.
At first, hes just withdrawn, but after he steals from a neighbor, his. In his followup, booked, he tells a more reflective tale in verse, one about a boy who loves soccer. Need help on themes in kwame alexander s the crossover. His verse novel the crossover won the 2015 newbery medal recognizing the years most distinguished contribution to american literature for children. May 06, 2016 booked asks tweens to consider the idea that being smart could be cool newbery medalwinner kwame alexander brings soccer, poetry, and teen life together in a compelling narrative for middle. Kwame alexander is a poet, educator, and new york times bestselling author of 21 books, including the crossover, which received the 2015 john newbery medal for the most distinguished contribution to american literature for children, the coretta scott king author award honor, the ncte charlotte huck honor, the lee bennett hopkins poetry award, and the passaic. Booked by kwame alexander lesson and activity ideas made with by shannon guess hi, please share your lesson and activity ideas for our upcoming book in a day anonymous. The author is kwame alexander, a young, acclaimed, africanamerican poet and novelist. A play on words and the game of soccer in kwame alexanders. Kwame alexander is the author of many books for young adults, including booked, the crossover, he said, she said, and others. Kwame alexander is a poet, educator, and new york times bestselling author of 24 books, including the crossover, which received the 2015 john newbery medal for the most distinguished contribution to american literature for children. In booked, kwame alexander takes readers on a unique adventure with teen boy nick hall. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. About kwame biography kwame alexander is a poet, educator, and the new york times bestselling author of 32 books, including the undefeated, illustrated by kadir nelson, how to read a book, illustrated by melissa sweet, swing, rebound, which was shortlisted for prestigious carnegie medal, and, his newbery medalwinning middle grade novel, the crossover.
Instead he daydreams about soccer, a girl he likes, and an upcoming soccer tournament. Booked asks tweens to consider the idea that being smart could be cool newbery medalwinner kwame alexander brings soccer, poetry, and teen life together in a. The theme of inheritance and genetics in the crossover. May 18, 2016 in booked, kwame alexander takes readers on a unique adventure with teen boy nick hall. This electric and heartfelt novelinverse by poet kwame alexander bends and breaks as it captures all the thrills and setbacks, action and emotion of a world cup match. Alexanders highly anticipated followup to newberywinning the crossover is a reflective narrative, with. Figurative language you and coby have been as tight as a pair of shin guards. In booked, alexander presents the reader with nick hall, a gifted student and soccer player who is coping with his parents recent divorce. For charlie bell, the future father of the crossovers jordan and josh, his fathers death alters his relationship with his mother and causes him to avoid what reminds him of his dad. Kwame alexander reads an extract from booked youtube.
An obvious love of words, and the way they flow together and create their own rhythm, makes alexander s work somewhat irresistible. They were asking each other to borrow the book after the current reader was done. Houghton mifflin harcourt publishing company, new york. In this followup to the newberywinning novel the crossover, soccer, family, love, and friendship, take center stage as twelveyearold nick learns the power of words as he wrestles with problems at home, stands up to a bully, and tries to impress the girl of his dreams. Booked by kwame alexander student novel study by artistic.
Booked is a spring title that has gotten a lot of buzz, and the reasons are plentiful and. Kwame alexander is a poet, educator, and new york times bestselling author of 21 books, including the crossover, which received the 2015 john newbery medal for the most distinguished contribution to american literature for children. Helping him along are his best friend and sometimes teammate coby, and the mac, a rapping librarian who gives nick. Booked by kwame alexander discussion guide discussion guide.
Kwame alexander plot the plot of the story is nicholas gets invited to play soccer in dallas nicholas parents get divorced nicholas mom moves to kentucky nicholas gets in a fight with dean and don coby accidentally sprains nicholas ankle nicholas appendix explodes. This electric and heartfelt novelinverse by poet kwame alexander bends and breaks as it captures all the thrills and setbacks, action and emotion of a world. Honestly, its not because i didnt know what to writei have so much to writeits because time got away from me. National book award long list new york times bestseller like lightningyou strikefast and freelegs zoomdown fieldeyes fixedon the checkered ballon the goalten yards to gocant nobody stop you. This soccerbased story explores a fatherson relationship and the different ways that a young person gets booked or taken out of the game. Kwame alexander is a poet, childrens author, playwright, producer, performer, and winner of the newbery medal for his novelinverse, the crossover, and shortlisted for the carnegie medal with rebound. At first, hes just withdrawn, but after he steals from a neighbor, his mother packs a reluctant charlie off to his grandparents near washington, d.
Hes also the founding editor of versify, an imprint that publishes fiction and poetry for children and young adults. Kwame alexander is a poet, childrens book author, playwright, producer, and the author of over a dozen books, including booked 2016, the crossover 2014, he said, she said 2014, acoustic rooster and his barnyard band 2011, and crush. Booked by kwame alexander lesson and activity ideas. He shares this dream with his best friend coby, who is singaporean and ghanaian and possesses the same passion. There is some mature content and the poetryverse style can be difficult to follow at times. Apr 05, 2016 alexanders highly anticipated followup to newberywinning the crossover is a reflective narrative, with little of the first books explosive energy. This is a student workbook designed to accompany booked by kwame alexanders novel, booked.
The themes discussed by kwame alexander are rather stockstandard, with things such as family breakups, identity crises and average teen struggles coming into play rather too often for my liking as a slightly older reader. The themetracker below shows where, and to what degree, the theme of inheritance and genetics appears in each chapter of the crossover. This is going to be a story about soccer, the title seems to say, but what alexander has written is a book about. What the mostly freeverse novel does have is a likable protagonist, great wordplay, solid teen and adult secondary characters, and a clear picture of the challenges young people face when. This novel in verse is rich in character and relationships. In this prequel to newbery awardwinning the crossover 2014, alexander revisits previous themes and formats while exploring new ones. Nick is an average boy of who likes football and hates books.
Apr 24, 2018 kwame alexander, the amazing author of booked, rebound and the crossover, reads an extract from booked. Meettheauthor recording with kwame alexander about the crossover. Kwame alexander gives readers a bit of a head fake with the title of his latest novel in verse, booked. Newbery medalwinning author kwame alexander s new effort is a novel about a boy named nick, written in verse. Twelveyearold nick loves soccer and hates books, but soon learns the power of words as he wrestles with problems at home. Booked by kwame alexander average person knows about twelve thousand words. While somewhat lighter than alexander s the crossover, booked still deals with serious life issues for middle schoolers, including bullying, racism, divorce, and education. Twelveyearold nick loves soccer and hates books, but soon learns the power of words as he wrestles with problems at home, stands up to a bully, and tries to impress the girl of his dreams. This avid soccer fan and player, is the son of a university professor that has written a dictionary of unusual words.
This study guide consists of approximately 62 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of booked. My book club group, the crocodiles, finished booked by kwame alexander. The sneaky and hilarious way author kwame alexander introduces weird yet cool vocabulary words is a delightful part of this realistic look into middle school life. All three of these books feature male characters who face difficult situations in. Its what powered the crossover, and it is at the core of booked. Rebound by kwame alexander april 23, 2018 betsy 2 comments charlie is struggling to rebound after his dads death in this well crafted, middle grades verse. The crossover themes from litcharts the creators of. If youve read kwame alexander s other books the crossover or booked, then you kind of know what to expect.
Booked by kwame alexander lesson and activity ideas made with by shannon guess hi, please share your lesson and activity ideas for our upcoming book in a day. As students read this book, the same question can be answered with the. After the wonder that was the crossover that won a newberry medal, kwame alexander returns stronger than ever with booked. Summary twelveyear old nick hall seems to have things pretty good.
I would begin by asking students an openended question such as how do relationships affect me. The book, which is written as a long poem in alexander s signature style, tells the true stories of prominent african americans who played a pivotal role in american history and beyond. There are a couple of fistfights, some namecalling stupid, ignorant, and racist names used to insult a student of asianghanian descent. Parents need to know booked, by newbery medal winner kwame alexander the crossover, is a novel in verse that. In booked, the new novelinverse by newbery award winner kwame alexander, 12yearold nick knows all about words. Kwame alexander, award winning childrens book author, poet. Apr 05, 2016 kwame alexander is a poet, childrens book author, playwright, producer, public speaker, performer, and winner of the 2015 newbery medal for his novelinverse, the crossover. I have an issue, though, with theme and treatment of theme. Two major themes are prominent in this book family relationships and loss.
Kwame alexander born august 21, 1968 is an american writer of poetry and childrens fiction. Like i said i love this book and think you should read it too. I teach 6th grade, and so many of my boys this year were obsessed with kwame alexander s books. His father is obsessed with them and makes nick read every day from weird and wonderful words, a dictionary that he wrote. Apr 05, 2016 ean1kwame alexanders newbery awardwinning the crossover takes on the explosive poetry of basketball. Alexander believes that poetry can change the world, and he uses it to inspire and empower young people. Kwame alexander is a very talented writer that can intertwine poetry, the complexities of family life, and can reach ya readers. September 17, 2017 solo, a ya novel in poetic verse, tells the story of seventeenyearold blade morrison, whose life is bombarded with scathing tabloids and a father struggling with just about every addiction under the sunincluding a desperate desire to make a comeback. His other works include he said she said, a ya novel. The only fight you really have to win is the one agai. The story is told in verse, from the perspective of the main character.
Kwame alexander is a master at creating character voice in poetry. Poet alexander deftly reveals the power of the format to pack an emotional. Average president knows twice that, he says, sounding like morgan freeman. Rebound by kwame alexander is a prequel to the crossover. Most material is present tense, with the exception of remembered material, which is in past tense. Recommendation evaluation i recommend this book to anybody who likes sports and action. The following version of this book was used to create this study guide. Kwame alexander, the amazing author of booked, rebound and the crossover, reads an extract from booked. Kwame alexanders booked is a young adult novel in verse about the life of nick.
This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of booked by kwame alexander. Parents need to know booked, by newbery medal winner kwame alexander the crossover, is a novel in verse that centers on a middle school soccer player who struggles with his family going through a divorce, school bullies, and middle school romance. Kwame alexander, on the heels of his award winning crossover, has wowed his readers again with booked, an equally poetic tale about sports as the backdrop for teenaged angst. Aug 04, 2016 aug 4, 2016 booked by kwame alexander discussion guide stay safe and healthy. The novel is fresh in its approach and has a sports theme, as. This time around, his free verse echoes the lilting and graceful feel of the game. This study guide consists of approximately 62 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes. Along with his best friend cody, he dreams of being a soccer star and spends much of his time practicing and playing in tournaments. The novel is booked, a novel in verse which succeeds and follows in format and temperament the newberywinning, the crossover. The crossover study guide contains a biography of kwame alexander, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. All students should be able to write their stories and share them with the world duration. Booked is a free verse novel that will engage your students and bring a new appreciation for words.
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