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The Middle Grade Books of Kwame Alexander
Kwame Alexander grew up surrounded by piles of books, with an English teacher mom and a publisher dad. As he writes in his inspirational The Playbook, “my house was pretty much a library.” After a childhood spent reading, late in elementary school, Alexander lost interest in the kinds of books his teachers assigned him. But in middle school, he picked up the autobiography of Muhammed Ali, The Greatest: My Own Story, and became a bookworm once again. He didn’t consider a career in writing until he was studying medicine at Virginia Tech and the poet Nikki Giovanni, from whom he took a creative writing class, encouraged him to pursue it.
Alexander wrote ten volumes of poetry and several picture books before he hit upon the genre that would bring his gifts to many more readers: the middle grade, sports-themed novel-in-verse. Beginning with The Crossover in 2014, which won the Newbery Medal, Alexander published a string of books to great acclaim that are technically middle grade, but will appeal to readers of any age above that (including adults!) because of the pizazz of their verse, their compelling characters, and the complex emotional territory they mine.
Here’s a guide to some of the prolific Alexander’s most recent work.
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The Crossover by Kwame Alexander (2014)
This funny, moving novel-in-verse, which won the Coretta Scott King Award and the Newbery medal, tells the story of the Bell twins, Josh and Jordan. The boys’ dad, Chuck “Da Man” Bell, used to play professional basketball in a European league, and they both try to emulate his skills on the court. Meanwhile, the boys’ formidable mother, Dr. Crystal Stanley-Bell, makes sure they’re keeping up with their studies as well as their hoops, and worries about Chuck’s health, which has declined. The twins, always close, begin to drift apart when Jordan gets a girlfriend and Josh stays focused on basketball.
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Booked by Kwame Alexander (2016)
Booked follows twelve-year-old Nick Hall through an eventful year. For the first time, the soccer-obsessed Nick will play on a different travel team than his best friend. Nick has a crush on April, who’s showing signs of interest in him too, but unfortunately the school bully also likes her. And Nick’s parents’ marriage is on the rocks. Alexander captures all these dramatic twists and turns with characteristic verve through verse that brings all these personalities to life in few words.
The Playbook: 52 Rules to Aim, Shoot, and Score in This Game Called Life
Kwame Alexander
Hardcover
$16.99
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The Playbook: 52 Rules to Aim, Shoot, and Score in this Game Called Life by Kwame Alexander (2017)
This upbeat, easy-to-read book of wisdom and advice for kids—especially of the sports-obsessed variety—is full of dynamic graphics and compelling photos. Fans of Alexander will be interested to learn that he wasn’t much of a basketball player—tennis was his game. (Will a tennis-themed novel-in-verse be next?) Alexander shares inspiring stories, such as those of the Williams sisters and Wilma Rudolph, and insightful quotations, whose messages he boils down into 52 rules to live by. As he writes in Rule #30, “There is no single formula for winning but you must have a game plan.”
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Solo by Kwame Alexander with Mary Rand Hess (2017)
If your kids loved Alexander’s books but are growing up fast, Solo, which will appeal to readers age fourteen and up, will fit the bill. In Solo, Alexander and Rand Hess tell the story of Blade Morrison, the son of rock star (and drug addict) Rutherford Morrison, whose fame and addictions complicate his son’s life. Music-loving Blade learns a family secret that sends him on quest to Ghana to sort everything out.
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Rebound by Kwame Alexander (2018)
Alexander returned to middle grade territory this year with Rebound, a prequel to The Crossover that shows how the Bell twins’ dad Charlie became Chuck “Da Man.” In the 1980’s when teenage Charlie is inching down the wrong path, stealing from a neighbor, his mom sends him to Washington D.C. for the summer, where his cousin Roxie, a star basketball player, sets him straight.