New York Times bestselling author, Kwame Alexander, recently made a visit to Cross Creek Charter Academy.
Kwame Alexander is an American writer of poetry and children's fiction. His verse novel “The Crossover” won the 2015 Newbery Medal recognizing the year's "most distinguished contribution to American literature for children." It was also selected as an Honor book for the Coretta Scott King Award. Some of his other works include “Booked,” which was long-listed for the National Book Award, “The Playbook: 52 Rules to Help You Aim, Shoot, and Score in this Game of Life,” “Swing,” and picture books, “Out of Wonder” and “The Undefeated.”
"I love visiting schools and meeting readers as much as I love writing the books," said Alexander. "I really want to make all books cool for all kids.”
Jenny Maxwell, library tech aide at Cross Creek, said the highlight of the visit was when Alexander played a game with four students and then with four teachers. He would read a line of his poetry and they had to finish it.
The student who won received a shirt, and the teacher who won received a copy of Alexander’s newest picture book, “The Undefeated.”
“Students loved how engaging Mr. Alexander was with them,” said Maxwell. “Mrs. Beier, seventh-grade ELA teacher, said her students were very inspired by Mr. Alexander, and that he motivated them to read more.”
About Cross Creek Charter Academy
Cross Creek Charter Academy is a tuition-free, public charter school in Byron Center, Michigan, serving students in Young 5s through eighth grade. It is part of the National Heritage Academies network, which includes more than 100 tuition-free, public charter schools serving more than 65,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade across nine states. For more information, visit nhaschools.com.
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