We usually have NPR's Weekend Edition on the radio as we get ready for church on Sunday mornings. One Sunday in April, I was blown away by an interview with author Kwame Alexander: How to Get Kids Hooked On Books? 'Use Poetry. It Is A Surefire Way.' There have been very few books over the years that I have stopped, and immediately ordered a copy as soon as I heard about it. Alexander's new novel Booked was one of them.
Kwame writes books about middle school boys in verse, rather than prose, and he is exceptional at it! His earlier book, The Crossover, won the Newberry Medal. Booked is about Nick, a twelve year old boy who loves soccer, and HATES books. This premise alone is enough to pull in those reluctant readers. But as readers get to know Nick, they also learn that "He hates books because his father makes him read the dictionary every day."
My middle school students adored this book. It was loved by voracious and reluctant readers, boys and girls, whether they were sports-oriented or not.
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| Booked (affiliate link) |
Listen to the impressive interview via NPR:
Visit Kwame Alexander's Website
Follow Kwame on Twitter
Check out Alexander's Book: Page-to-Stage Writing Workshop: Awakening the Writer, Publisher, and Presenter in Every K-8 Student
Read Kwame's acceptance speech for the Newbery Award for The Crossover
Happy Reading!
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