THE CROSSOVER

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Alexander, Kwame. 2014. CROSSOVER. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 9780544107717.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

I had the opportunity to listen to Kwame Alexander speak at the Texas Library Association conference in San Antonio in April 2014. He spoke on the impetus for Crossover: to write a verse novel for boys. And not just any boy, but the sports-loving, poetry-hating, I-don’t-go-to-the-library sort of boy. I was completely intrigued and knew I had to read this book, because he’s absolutely correct in noticing the gap in this genre’s niche: most verse novels are written to appeal to girls, and boys who do read verse novels are already vested in their own reading identity.

But could he pull it off? I will freely admit, although I loved the cover, that I was a bit skeptical of the goal. I’m a middle school librarian, so I really wanted to meet the verse novel which could hook my sports-loving, poetry-hating, I-don’t-go-to-the-library boys into reading it from beginning to end. Challenge on!

The Crossover is a basketball verse novel told from the perspective of Josh Bell, nicknamed McNasty. He and his twin, JB, are star players on their middle school’s basketball team, and their dad is a former professional basketball player, and their number one fan. The novel tracks their journey through four quarters of life. I loved that format! I think boys will love having four quarters to read, plus a Warm-Up at the beginning and an Overtime at the end. Each poem is titled separately, and there is a mix of poetry formats: free verse, concrete, couplet, list. Some rhyme, but most do not. The poems invoke a variety of emotions, and it is with fair warning that I invite you to read the fourth quarter poems with a tissue box in hand!

Let me share the verses which made me laugh out loud and want to shake Kwame’s hand. I knew, at this point, that he’d nailed it. They come from the poem JB and I on page 23. It’s the first poem in the First Quarter.

JB and I

(excerpt from page 23)

To get ready for the season, I went

To three summer camps. JB only went to

One. Said he didn’t want to miss Bible school.

What does he think, I’m stupid? Ever since

Kim Bazemore kissed him in Sunday school,

He’s been acting all religious,

Thinking less and less about

Basketball, and more and more about

GIRLS.

Why do I love these lines? Because I spend eight hours everyday with middle school kids and these really sound like a middle school boy calling out a buddy. Conversations like this one play out in my library every morning and during all the lunch periods, when kids are free to come into the library and hang out. When I read these lines, I knew I had a book in my hands that I could get into their hands, i.e. The sports-loving, poetry-hating, I-don’t-go-to-the-library hands of a middle grade boy.

SPOTLIGHT POEM AND LESSON

This lesson is appropriate for middle school. It’s an introduction to the book and hopefully will lead to many checkouts! 

First, read the poem on pages 24 and 25. 

At the End of Warm-Ups,

My Brother Tries to Dunk

(excerpt only -- use entire poem for lesson)

Not even close, JB.

What’s the matter?

The hoop too high for you? I snicker

But it’s not funny to him,

Especially when I take off from center court,

My hair like wings,

Each lock lifting me higher and HIGHER

Like a 747 ZOOM ZOOM!

I throw down so hard,

The fiberglass trembles.

BOO YAH, Dad screams

From the top row.

I’m the only kid

On the team

Who can do that.

Then, because we’re trying to hook the sports-loving, poetry-hating, I-don’t-go-to-the-library boy, ask the question, “Who loves basketball and why do you love it?” Let the kids discuss the sport and then wrap up by reading another poem from the book. Then walk away. Don’t push too hard. Trust the book to do it’s job, i.e. to hook those boys. It will happen.

Kwame Alexander is interviewed by Sports Illustrated for Kids blog. A great extension to share with the kids!