Chuck retreats into himself, grades suffer, his interest in basketball and anything other than comic books disappears. Chuck Bell does ok in school, has two best friends in Skinny and CJ, and is looking forward to hiking in national parks with his dad when his dad suddenly dies of a brain hemorrhage. It has been marketed as a sequel but is a prequel, the story of Chuck’s twelfth year of loss, recovery, and the usual teenaged angst. Their dad was supposed to be one of the best but Alexander did not tell his story. Readers were treated to poetry in motion that went back and forth from Jordan and Joshua’s points of view. They are the children of former star Chuck Bell, who in his prime was supposed to be one of the best. It features twin high school basketball phenoms Jordan and Joshua Bell who hope to make it to the NBA one day. I’m not sure if a children’s author would qualify, but Alexander gets my vote as a future poet laureate his work of poetry is that good, and even better that it encourages middle school and high school students to enjoy reading.

He has a Midas touch and is able to go back and forth between age groups effortlessly.

I am easing back into fiction reading and who better to start with than acclaimed children’s and young adult writer Kwame Alexander. Operation diversify my reading for 2020 is underway. Recently, Alexander led a delegation of 20 writers and activists to Ghana, where they delivered books, built a library, and provided literacy professional development to 300 teachers, as a part of LEAP for Ghana, an International literacy program he co-founded. A regular speaker at colleges and conferences in the U.S., he also travels the world planting seeds of literary love (Singapore, Brazil, Italy, France, Shanghai, etc.). Kwame believes that poetry can change the world, and he uses it to inspire and empower young people through his PAGE TO STAGE Writing and Publishing Program released by Scholastic. His other works include Surf's Up, a picture book Booked, a middle grade novel and He Said She Said, a YA novel. 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 Poetry Prize.

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