SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About/Contact
  • *Best New Books*
    • Annual Best Lists
  • Reviews
    • One Star Review
    • Nonfiction
    • Toon Reviews
  • Articles
    • Authors
    • Link Du Jour
  • Covers
    • Covering the Newbery
    • Cover Curiosity
    • Unfortunate Covers
  • News
    • Books on Film
    • Morning Notes
  • Newsletter

November 10, 2015 by Travis Jonker

Cover Reveal: BOOKED by Kwame Alexander

November 10, 2015 by Travis Jonker   3 comments

The question always comes.

After the flood of excitement and gratitude, a Newbery winner must face the inevitable blank page.

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Kwame Alexander, author of Newbery Medal-winning The Crossover, faced the blank page and lived to tell about it. His new book, called Booked, arrives on April 5, 2016. Today we have a first look at the cover.

I talked to Mr. Alexander about things.

Travis Jonker: Down the road, your friend wins the Newbery. *Ring* *Ring* 

“What’s this going to be like, Kwame?”

Kwame Alexander: It’s going to be like that time when you were eight and you won the elementary spelling bee, and for a single day, every teacher in school smiled when you walked by, every aunt and uncle stopped by to give you $5, your parents let you watch TV ’til you fell asleep, and that one girl you crushed on came and sat at your lunch table. Only it’s not a single day, it’s FOREVER! That’s what it’s going to be like: breathtaking and mind blowing! (Also, you’ll need to hire an assistant).

TJ: Is there a particular piece of wisdom you always try to share with young writers?

KA: I tell’em three things: Read, Read, and Read. We learn how to write, what works and what doesn’t, by reading other writers. Also, we broaden our experiences by getting between the lines and discovering things that we may not have ever experienced or even wondered about. To have something worth writing about, you have to live a meaningful and worthy life, and reading is a fairly cheap and exciting way to begin doing, or at least understanding how to do that.

TJ: Your next novel-in-verse! What’s the story behind Booked?

KA: I’ll tell you the story behind the story. Writing a novel after The Crossover was daunting and fun. I found myself competing against myself, comparing myself to myself, until one day in Panera, I said to heck with that drama. I decided to do something completely different, not in story per se–I mean I’m still dealing with sports (soccer) and family and friendships and word–but in terms of technique. Booked (which is the term for getting a red card or thrown out of soccer match), in many ways, is more experimental, and more dramatic, than anything I’ve written, and I had so much fun writing it.

Thanks for the conversation, Kwame. Now let’s have a first look at the cover…

(Click to enlarge)

Booked

 

Should we give away a copy? Let’s give away a copy.

Click here if the form above doesn’t work for you

Filed under: Articles

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments

About Travis Jonker

Travis Jonker is an elementary school librarian in Michigan. He writes reviews (and the occasional article or two) for School Library Journal and is a member of the 2014 Caldecott committee. You can email Travis at scopenotes@gmail.com, or follow him on Twitter: @100scopenotes.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

January 2023

Who's Published the Most Newbery Winners in the Last 25 Years?

by Travis Jonker

January 2023

2023 Caldecott Medal Predictions

by Travis Jonker

January 2023

The Ten Most Eye-Opening Caldecott Books of All Time

by Travis Jonker

January 2023

Enter the World of Incredibly Specific Children's Literature Instagram Accounts

by Travis Jonker

December 2022

Top 10 Posts of 2022: #1

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

One Star Review, Guess Who? (#181)

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Review of the Day: The Tree and the River by Aaron Becker

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Monkey Prince Vol. 1: Enter the Monkey | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

Heavy Medal

Heavy Medal Mock Newbery Readers’ Poll Results

by Steven Engelfried

Teen Librarian Toolbox

The Value of Innocence for BIPOC Students, a guest post by David Mura

by Amanda MacGregor

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

A Book 25 Years in the Making: Marla Frazee Visits The Yarn

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

Best Books 2022 | The Year in SLJ Covers

SLJ’s 2022 Best Books Are Live. Download a PDF of the Complete List.

Best Picture Books 2022 | SLJ Best Books

Best Nonfiction 2022 | SLJ Best Books

SLJ Book Reviews Editors’ Favorite Books Read in 2022

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Brenda says

    November 10, 2015 at 1:36 pm

    So happy to read this interview! I happened to see the cover somewhere online recently but no other details. Yay Kwame! Sharing in a “Waiting on Wednesday” post tomorrow! Lots of fans of Crossover at my school!

  2. Rebecca says

    November 10, 2015 at 2:53 pm

    I just started reading THE CROSSOVER, and I’m amazed at Kwame’s verse. Looking forward to his next one!

  3. Kelly D. Vorhis says

    November 10, 2015 at 4:42 pm

    This books looks amazing, and will be a hit with many of my students. I’ll be sharing it with a colleague who teaches a Sports Literature class as well. I’d love to receive a copy!

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

  • Author/Illustrator Blogs

    • Erin Stead Illustration
    • Hey, Rabbit!
    • James Preller's Blog
    • MATTHEWCORDELLBLOGS
    • Mo Willems Doodles
    • The Scop
  • Book Blogs I Like

    • A Book and a Hug
    • A Fuse #8 Production
    • A Kids Book a Day
    • A Year of Reading
    • Abby (the) Librarian
    • Awful Library Books
    • Becky’s Book Reviews
    • Better Book Titles
    • Book-A-Day Almanac
    • Bookends
    • books4yourkids.com
    • bookshelves of doom
    • Bottom Shelf Books
    • Calling Caldecott
    • Caustic Cover Critic
    • Chad C. Beckerman
    • Charlotte’s Library
    • Cheryl Rainfield
    • Chicken Spaghetti
    • CHILDREN’S ILLUSTRATION
    • Collecting Children’s Books
    • Cybils
    • EarlyWord
    • educating alice
    • Finding Wonderland
    • For Those About to Mock
    • Good Comics for Kids
    • Good Show Sir
    • GottaBook
    • Great Kid Books
    • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
    • Hi Miss Julie!
    • Jen Robinson’s Book Page
    • Kidsmomo
    • Maria T. Middleton Design
    • Nerdy Book Club
    • Neverending Search
    • Nine Kinds of Pie
    • One Book, Two Books, Old Books, New Books
    • Out of the Box
    • Oz and Ends
    • PlanetEsme
    • Read Roger
    • Reading Rants!
    • Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast
    • sharpread
    • ShelfTalker
    • so tomorrow
    • The Children's Book Review
    • The Miss Rumphius Effect
    • Uncovered Cover Art
    • Waking Brain Cells
    • Watch. Connect. Read.
  • Library Blogs

    • ALSC Blog
    • Blue Skunk Blog
    • librarian.net
    • LISNews
    • Stephen's Lighthouse
    • Tame The Web: Libraries and Technology
    • Tame The Web: Libraries and Technology
    • Unshelved
  • Follow This Blog

    Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    Primary Sidebar

    • News & Features
    • Reviews+
    • Technology
    • School Libraries
    • Public Libraries
    • Age Level
    • Ideas
    • Blogs
    • Classroom
    • Diversity
    • People
    • Job Zone

    Reviews+

    • Book Lists
    • Best Books
    • Media
    • Reference
    • Series Made Simple
    • Tech
    • Review for SLJ
    • Review Submissions

    SLJ Blog Network

    • 100 Scope Notes
    • A Fuse #8 Production
    • Good Comics for Kids
    • Heavy Medal
    • Neverending Search
    • Teen Librarian Toolbox
    • The Classroom Bookshelf
    • The Yarn

    Resources

    • 2022 Youth Media Awards
    • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
    • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
    • Summer Reading 2021
    • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
    • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
    • Summer Programming Survey
    • Research
    • White Papers / Case Studies
    • School Librarian of the Year
    • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
    • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

    Events & PD

    • In-Person Events
    • Online Courses
    • Virtual Events
    • Webcasts
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Subscribe
    • Media Inquiries
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Content Submissions
    • Data Privacy
    • Terms of Use
    • Terms of Sale
    • FAQs
    • Diversity Policy
    • Careers at MSI


    COPYRIGHT © 2023


    COPYRIGHT © 2023