Poetry or Novel in Verse - Rebound by Kwame Alexander

 

Poetry or Novel in Verse

Rebound by Kwame Alexander

Springfield-Greene County Library's (SGCL) catalog categorizes this book at Juvenile Fiction, and would be revealed if a search required any of the following attributes: Novels in verse, basketball stories, Families -- Juvenile fiction, African Americans -- Juvenile Fiction, and Washington (D.C.) -- History -- 20th century -- Juvenile fiction.

After consulting with colleagues who read this book, they feel that the ideal target age group would be junior high, grades fifth through seventh.

Kwame Alexander takes readers on a journey of self and family discovery through the eyes of Charlie, who seems to be making every mistake imaginable during the summer of 1988, while staying with his grandparents.  Intertwined with poetry and comics, Rebound is certain to please readers from start to finish.

I initially struggled when searching for a book to satisfy this requirement, and each colleague recommended this work as a possibility; Alexander visited SGCL last year, which still resonates to this day!

For Rebound, I will be evaluating mood, tone, and illustrations.

Alexander does a great job in conveying the character's moods: despair, frustration, and enlightenment, simply to mention a few emotions.  The use of comics to convey Charlie's visions and dreams, combined with italics to represent different parties engaged in conversation, perform wonderfully in conveying desired tones of the characters.  

The tone conveyed throughout reflects Alexander's passion for writing and educating; -mirroring my colleagues' opinions.  As stated on the book jacket, the author strives in the belief about the powerful nature of words and literature (Alexander, 2018), and Rebound provides no shortage of examples of internal and external tones.  Internal tones vary depending on the nature of the conversation - regular font and punctuation for conversations with deep themes, sometimes bordering morose.  External tones are effectively conveyed with italics and use of ALL CAPS to differentiate between conversations with adults, and also distance with higher volumes, or emotions (anger).

Illustrations throughout Rebound are sparse, yet effective, and considerably emphasize the plot, along with the main character's main emotions - what he dreams he really is.  Aside from the physical illustrations intertwined with the poetry selections, I feel that these two elements effectively combine to create illustrations within the poetry - connecting readers with Charlie, and the subject(s).  The illustrations are powerful tools that aid readers in obtaining context as they continue with the poetry selections that follow.

Alexander, K., & Anyabwile, D. (2018). Rebound. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Pike’s Peak Library District. (n.d.). Rebound book cover. Book Review: Rebound. Retrieved June 2, 2024, from https://ppld.org/book-reviews/rebound.