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Black Star

Kwame Alexander

Andersen Press (12+) 9781839135675 (Hardback)

Reading resources coming soon

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Period detail and segregation form a charged and volatile backdrop for Charley, a spirited, questioning girl who dreams of becoming a professional baseball player.  Tension and fear intensify as Charley comes under the threat of forces that she does not wholly understand.  A strong picture of culture, family and identity is built with warmth and empathy. Told in verse, there’s a spare quality to this character-led novel which belies the cultural richness and the deft exploration of prejudice and barriers which it highlights.

Themes:

  • America 
  • History (1920s) 
  • Verse 
  • Segregation 
  • Racism 
  • Sexism – gender roles/girls in sport? 
  • Freedom 
  • Human Rights

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Kwame Alexander

Kwame Alexander is a poet, educator, publisher, and New York Times Bestselling author. His books include REBOUND, which was shortlisted for prestigious UK Carnegie Medal, The Caldecott Medal and Newberry Honor-winning picture book, THE UNDEFEATED, illustrated by Kadir Nelson and his NEWBERY medal winning middle-grade novel, THE CROSSOVER. A regular contributor to NPR’s Morning Edition, Kwame is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, The Coretta Scott King Author Honor, Three NAACP Image Award Nominations, and the 2017 Inaugural Pat Conroy Legacy Award. In 2018, he opened the Barbara E. Alexander Memorial Library and Health Clinic in Ghana, as a part of LEAP for Ghana, an international literacy program he co-founded. He is the writer and executive producer of THE CROSSOVER TV series on Disney+. 

Shadowers' reviews and artwork