Swing by Kwame Alexander with Mary Rand Hess

 I have bought several Kwame Alexander books (although it appears I've only read one other one) for the boys at school.  His sports books really appeal to boys who claim they don't like to read.  This book I bought last year for a few of the boys, and I brought it home over the summer to read.  I picked it up a few weeks ago, but haven't had a chance to finish my review of it until now.  

Swing is the story of two friends- Noah and Walt.  Walt is looking for fame through baseball, he is hoping that after three years of not making the varsity ball team, this will be the year he will.  Noah is hoping at some point he can work up the nerve to tell his friend Sam how he feels about her.  

I love the fact that Alexander writes his books in prose. There are times I have to convince the boys they will like it, and they always do.  This book has the added appeal of mixed media art as Noah tries to express his feelings towards Sam in a unique way.   This is a book I will certainly share with kids at school.  

Crossover by Kwame Alexander

Don't ask me where I picked this book up because I have no idea.  It was in my TBR pile and last week when I was looking for a book to read, this is the one that stood out for me.  I LOVED this book- I loved that it was told through poetry, but also that it was a story of a grade 7 boy playing basketball told in poetry!

Crossover is the story of twin brothers, Josh and Jordan Bell. They are the children of a former basketball star and they have game. They are the star players on their school team and they eat, sleep and dream basketball.  That is  until a girl comes along and suddenly things start to change for the brothers.
As the boys adapt to new feelings and changes at home, they use basketball as a way to work through their thoughts and feelings.

The story is told from Josh's perspective and he is such an interesting character.  At the start it is all about basketball, but as the story goes on, you start to realize he has deeper feelings and his writing changes as the story progresses.  Both Josh and Jordan are dealing with both normal things all kids deal with, but with the added pressure of their father's dreams for them as well.

I can't wait to share this with some of the boys from my class last year.  The fact that the story is told through poetry opens up so many discussion opportunities as well making it a quick read, which is appealing to many boys.