Kwame Alexander

Thirteen-year-old twin basketball stars Josh and Jordan wrestle with highs and lows on and off the court as their father ignores his declining health.

Twelve-year-old Nick loves soccer and hates books, but soon 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.

"You gotta know the rules to play the game. Ball is life. Take it to the hoop. Soar. What can we imagine for our lives? What if we were the star players, moving and grooving through the game of life? What if we had our own rules of the game to help us get what we want, what we aspire to, what will enrich our lives? Illustrated with photographs by Thai Neave, The Playbook is intended to provide inspiration on the court of life. Each rule containswisdom...

Noah and his best friend Walt want to become cool, make the baseball team, and win over Sam, the girl Noah has loved for years. When Noah finds old love letters, Walt hatches a plan to woo Sam. But as Noah's love life and Walt's baseball career begin, the letters alter everything.-- Provided by publisher.

"A novel in verse about an Asante boy who is captured and taken from his village during the nineteenth century" -- Provided by publisher.

Two ten-year-olds must decide whether they should join forces to create an unbeatable duo that is sure to win their school's annual creative storytelling contest. -- Provided by publisher.

Acoustic Rooster forms a jazz band with Duck Ellington, Bee Holliday, and Pepe Ernesto Cruz to compete in the annual Barnyard Talent Show against such greats as Thelonius Monkey, Mules Davis, and Ella Finchgerald. Includes glossary, notes on the characters and songs, and jazz timeline.

Find a tree-a black tupelo or dawn redwood will do-and plant yourself. (It's okay if you prefer a stoop, like Langston Hughes.) With these words, an adventure begins- an adventure into the workd of reading, Kwame Alexander's evocative poetry and Melissa Sweet's lush artwork come together to take you on a sensory journey between the pages of a book.

Afraid of singing in front of a large crowd, Indigo dreams about Acoustic Rooster and his band and, after a storm flattens their barn, helps organize a concert fundraiser to rebuild it.

Twelve-year old Black girl Charley, who dreams of becoming the first professional female pitcher, must navigate adolescence during the turbulent segregation era and the beginning of the Great Migration.