Booked - Kwame Alexander


Like lightning

you strike
fast and free
legs zoom
down field
eyes fixed
on the checkered ball
on the goal
ten yards to go
can’t nobody stop you

can’t nobody cop you…


In this follow-up to the Newbery-winning novel The Crossover, soccer, family, love, and friendship, take center stage as twelve-year-old 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. Helping him along are his best friend and sometimes teammate Coby, and The Mac, a rapping librarian who gives Nick inspiring books to read. 

Kwame Alexander is a poet
And he definitely knows it.
He's a master of his art,
Always writing from the heart.
He knows a good turn of phrase,
His thoughts weaving a maze.
Each sentence covers new ground,
Every stanza seemingly new-found,
Each work far-reaching,
Every page worth teaching.

Okay, I could try to write my whole review in verse, but it would devolve into terrible, third-rate Dr. Seuss rhymes. Me, staying awake until all hours with a rhyming dictionary in my hand and my dissertation withering away beside me. So instead I'll leave what I already managed to write, and I'll continue by saying this book is awesome. If possible, it's even better than the first. Alexander knows how to write, he knows how to rhyme, and he knows how to pace a story. He understands what it is to teach young readers while never underestimating them.

If you have space in your classroom library, public library, school library, home bookshelf, or a spare square of carpet on your floor on which to store things, you should definitely pick up Booked from your local, independent bookstore. It's so worth it!

Highly Recommended

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