One Book * One School * One Community * 2015 |
Kilmer Middle School has chosen the 2015 Newbery Award winning The Crossover by Kwame Alexander as the fourth annual selection in our One Book * One School * One Community effort during the Summer of 2015. All students, faculty and staff are asked to read this book in addition to meeting the summer reading requirements for their English class.The Crossover is a lyrically written novel-in-verse about middle school basketball stars Josh and Jordan -- it is a high energy story that is not only about sports, but also about life, being a teenager, and the importance of family. We hope this book resonates with our entire Kilmer community.
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Kirkus Reviews, starred review, December 18, 2013
" This novel in verse is rich in character and relationships. . . . Poet Alexander deftly reveals the power of the format to pack an emotional punch." School Library Journal, starred review "Alexander has crafted a story that vibrates with energy and heat and begs to be read aloud. A slam dunk." Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review, February 2014 "Alexander fully captures Josh's athletic finesse and coming-of-age angst in a mix of free verse and hip-hop poetry that will have broad appeal. . . . This will inspire budding players and poets alike." The New York Times, May 9, 2014 A “beautifully measured novel of life and lines”, which “for all the bells and whistles of a young man’s game … is most boldly and certainly a book about tenderness." |
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Our goal through the One Book initiative is to build Kilmer as a reading community through a shared text that we hope students, families, faculty, and staff will all read. We aim to faciliate discussion electronically, in person, and at dinner tables throughout the Kilmer community all summer and into the school year. Similar efforts are coordinated at a number of area high schools, such as James Madison HS, Thomas Jefferson HS for Science & Technology, Langley HS, Westfield HS, and Chantilly HS, to name a few. Many colleges and universities have embraced common book programs as well.
QUESTIONS? Please contact Gretchen Hazlin, Kilmer Librarian, if you have any questions about our common book project.
QUESTIONS? Please contact Gretchen Hazlin, Kilmer Librarian, if you have any questions about our common book project.
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You can find the book at your local public library in the following formats:
You may also purchase the book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble or other retailers. The Crossover is available for Kindle, nook, and other eReaders. AWARDS
WHY A COMMON BOOK?
To build community and to start conversations! “The impact of a common reading experience on student learning may bemagnified by multiple conversations students have about the common reading experience, through formal faculty- or staff-led discussions and spontaneous student-student conversations that may ‘spill over’ to informal settings” (Astin). “This common source of conversation promotes student interaction with other members of the [school] community (e.g., peers, faculty), serving to ‘connect’ students with the institution and strengthen their sense of community membership” (Tinto). Past Kilmer One Book selections: 2014 | 2013 | 2012 WHY SUMMER READING?
“Now there's a growing recognition that reading skills need to be nurtured well into adolescence, when students struggle with comprehension more than anything else" (McGrath). "Parents can encourage reading by keeping print books in the home, reading themselves, and setting aside time daily for their children to read." (Children Teens and Reading, a Common Sense Media Research Brief, 2014) "A new study shows that kids read for fun less and less as they get older, with 45% of 17-year-olds saying they read by choice only once or twice a year." (Time Magazine, May 12, 2014) 
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"With a bolt of lightning on my kicks . . .The court is SIZZLING. My sweat is DRIZZLING. Stop all that quivering. Cuz tonight I’m delivering," announces dread-locked, 12-year old Josh Bell. He and his twin brother Jordan are awesome on the court. But Josh has more than basketball in his blood, he's got mad beats, too, that tell his family's story in verse, in this fast and furious middle grade novel of family and brotherhood from Kwame Alexander (He Said, She Said 2013).
Josh and Jordan must come to grips with growing up on and off the court to realize breaking the rules comes at a terrible price, as their story's heart-stopping climax proves a game-changer for the entire family. Read a short excerpt of The Crossover. Listen to an audio sample of The Crossover. PARTICIPATE
Follow @kwamealexander on Twitter
Follow @kilmerlibrary Twitter feed and tag discussion of Wonder with #1bookkms 
Find our about Horace Silver, the jazz musician that Josh & JB's dad loves --
Learn more about the professional basketball players mentioned in this novel:
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Always shoot for the sun and you will shine.
The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
WORKS CITED
Astin, A. W. What matters in college: Four critical years revisited. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1993. Print.
Common Sense Media. "Children Teens and Reading: a Common Sense Media Research Brief." 2014. Common Sense Media. Web. 13 May 2014.
Iyengar, Sunil, and Don Ball, eds. "To Read or Not to Read: A Question of National Consequence." National Endowment for the Arts. National Endowment for the Arts, Nov 2007. Web. 18 May 2012.
McGrath, Anne. "A new read on teen literacy." U.S. News & World Report 28 Feb. 2005: 68. Educators Reference Complete. Web. 4 June 2012.
Tinto, V. Leaving college: Rethinking the causes and cures of student attrition (2nd ed.). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1993. Print.
Astin, A. W. What matters in college: Four critical years revisited. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1993. Print.
Common Sense Media. "Children Teens and Reading: a Common Sense Media Research Brief." 2014. Common Sense Media. Web. 13 May 2014.
Iyengar, Sunil, and Don Ball, eds. "To Read or Not to Read: A Question of National Consequence." National Endowment for the Arts. National Endowment for the Arts, Nov 2007. Web. 18 May 2012.
McGrath, Anne. "A new read on teen literacy." U.S. News & World Report 28 Feb. 2005: 68. Educators Reference Complete. Web. 4 June 2012.
Tinto, V. Leaving college: Rethinking the causes and cures of student attrition (2nd ed.). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1993. Print.
