He conducts creative writing workshops in middle and high schools, often reaching more than 500 students monthly. The crossover summary and study guide supersummary. Kwame alexanders the crossover won both the newberry and coretta scott king awards for childrens literature in 2014. In josh bell, joshs confidence as a basketball player is also evident. Alexander reads an excerpt from the crossover youtube. How kwame alexander hooks kids on poetry mother jones. This book was selected because of its high degree of potential user appeal students will relate to samanthas desire to go back and get it right. The author also introduces crucial vocabulary terms through twelve key poems presented at critical intervals throughout the book. Thanks to his dad, he and his twin brother, jordan, are kings on the court,with crossovers that make even the toughest ballers cry. Pdf downloads of all 1297 litcharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish.
As you read this book with students, they may notice that the poet presents a variety of types of poems in the book or you can point this out after reading. In this middle grade novelinverse by the newbery medalwinning and coretta scott king honor awardwinning author of the crossover, soccer, family, love, and friendship take center stage as 12yearold nick learns the power of words when he wrestles with problems at home, stands up to a bully, and tries to impress the girl of his dreams. Reading the poem is like watching a basketball gamefluid movements, quick changes, and excitement. Linebyline modern translations of every shakespeare play and poem. New basketball book the crossover puts poetry in motion the.
The crossover tells the story of a 12yearold basketball player through a series of funny and sad poems. Kwame alexander gives us a novel in verse a series of poems about twin brothers. Unlike many books aimed at preteens and teens, the crossover offers a positive example of an intact family with active, involved parents and. Poets novel turns young sports lovers into book lovers. The title of this book the crossover is an important phrase and idea throughout the book. The poems dodge and weave with the speed of a point guard driving for the basket, mixing basketball action with vocabularythemed poems, newspaper clippings, and joshs sincere firstperson accounts that swing from moments of swaggerworth triumph to profound pain. The crossover by kwame alexander overdrive rakuten. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 240 pages and is available in ebook format.
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. 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. Poet alexander deftly reveals the power of the format to pack an emotional. The first edition of the novel was published in march 18th 2014, and was written by kwame alexander. Write a narrative poem from josh s dad s perspective on the meaning of the word. 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. It refers to a basketball move described in the first vocabulary poem as well as to spoiler alert the death of the boys father. 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.
Here, poetry is in service to the interior and exterior. Verse novels are books that tell the story in narrative poetry. 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. You know exactly the kid who needs this book, who will fall in love with this book, and most important, who will see himself in this book. Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more. Commonlit book pairings the crossover free reading. 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.
Its about a junior high school kid, josh aka filthy and his parents and twin brother, jordan j. Come in to read stories and fanfics that span multiple fandoms in the book universe. According to the new york times, the crossover has sold nearly 500,000 hardcover and e book copies. Alexanders verse is fluid and electric, poignant and wise, skillfully chronicling main character joshs tough lessons as he comes to realize that true champions learn to dance. May 12, 2017 through all of the main characters struggles, he remains a positive role model, mainly because of the support he receives from other positive figures in the book, including his father, mother, and coach. Rebound, a prequel to the crossover, was published in 2018. Tell students to watch for the use of the phrase and talk about how it can be understood in each of the poems.
The crossover is a masterful mix of rhythm and heart that tells the story of two brothers navigating the deep waters of love, loyalty, and championship play. Below are some reading passages that we have hand picked to supplement this book. Alexanders poems vary from the pulsing, aggressive beats of a basketball game my shot is. At times he likes his nickname filthy mcnasty, but at other times he wants to be called josh. Pdf the crossover book by kwame alexander free download. Booked the crossover series hardcover april 5, 2016 by kwame alexander author visit amazons kwame alexander page. Definitions and examples of 6 literary terms and devices. This novel in verse is rich in character and relationships. Kwame alexander is a poet, childrens book author, playwright, producer, public speaker and performer. The crossover is a 2015 childrens book by american author kwame alexander and the winner. Download an educators guide to the 2015 newbery medalwinning book the crossover by kwame alexander. The main characters of this poetry, young adult story are josh bell, jordan bell. Its the same vibe the 12yearold protagonist of his newbery medalwinning 2014 novelinverse, the crossover, exudes on the basketball court.
The paperback of the the crossover by kwame alexander at barnes. The crossover ebook by kwame alexander rakuten kobo. Read josh bell from the story the crossover by morgaale000 with 769 reads. Detailed quotes explanations with page numbers for every important quote on the site. New basketball book the crossover puts poetry in motion. The crossover read online free book by kwame alexander in. Josh is the twelveyearold protagonist of the novel. Extended book trailer for the crossover by kwame alexander. Africanamerican novels american childrens novels basketball books childrens poetry newbery medalwinning works verse novels.
Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Write a eulogy for josh s dad from the perspective of another character. The crossover by kwame alexander is an energetic, engaging and emotional. Examine the symbolism and significance of the way crossover was used in the novel. Aug 22, 2014 guide for crossover by kwame alexander 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. This book could be used in comparison to what the family member in the crossover would have done if he could have relived his last day multiple times. The crossover, by awardwinning childrens book author and poet kwame alexander, was published in 2014 and won the 2015 newbery medal and coretta scott king award honor for childrens literature. Read the crossover by kwame alexander available from rakuten kobo. Others expectations of you are determined by their limitations of life.
New york times bestseller newbery medal winner coretta scott king honor award 2015 yalsa 2015 top ten best fiction. Free download or read online the crossover pdf epub book. Teacher editions with classroom activities for all 1297 titles we cover. This comprehensive lesson plan includes 30 daily lessons, 180 multiple choice questions, 20 essay questions, 20 fun activities, and more everything you need to teach the crossover. The crossover inseparable twin brothers josh and jb love basketball, but changes in their lives begin to pull them apart. Josh has many identities in this bookson, brother, basketball player, poet, and friend. Kwame alexander tells the story of josh, his family, and basketball through poetry. Poems 15 summary from the very first poem, dribbling, readers see how playful joshs voice can be through the placement of words on the page. Oct 06, 2014 the crossover will make a great bridge to books like matthew quicks boy21, too, both because of the content and the welldrawn, dynamic, and memorable characters.
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