The Crossover

Alexander, K. (2014). The crossover. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt: Boston, MA.

2015 Newberry Medal Winner
2015 Coretta Scott King Honor Award

12-year-old Josh Bell and his twin brother Jordan are masters on the basket ball court.  Their school team is headed to the state championship.  How could they not be with the Bell twins inheriting their retired professional father's skills?  Josh isn't just an amazing baller- Josh  "Filthy McNasty" Bell also has mad rhyme skills!  His verses tell the story of Josh as he and his family deal with the ups and downs of the court and life.  Laughs, love, life, and death are all experienced in rap beat after poetic rap from Josh's point of view. 

The Crossover is an AMAZING use of modern poetry (rap music) and sports- two things that aren't usually used together in young adult literature.  Teachers of grades 6-12 MUST use this book for their poetry unit!  It is guaranteed to catch the attention of teens, especially the boys.  Getting boys excited in poetry is no easy feet!  I used this book this past school year for Poem In My Pocket Day.  I actually rapped (poorly) one of the entries explaining how Josh earned his nickname Filthy McNasty.  My classes went nuts!  They wanted to me to read more and more.  News spread so fast that by the end of the day the principal had come by my room asking me to finish off the day by "rapping" the poem over the intercom for the entire school.  Afterwards I did not see this book back on the "New Releases" shelf for the remainder of the school year.   The Crossover should be a staple in any poetry unit.