This year's winner is Kwame Alexander for The Crossover (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
The award and a $1000 prize, courtesy of Lee Bennett Hopkins, will be presented at Penn State University in the fall.
Judges' Comments:
Crossover is the first great hip hop novel. Kwame Alexander singlehandedly justifies the form of the novel in verse with a story that could not be told any other way. And it is the compelling story that carries the reader through this book told in urban verse that, while truly poetry, does not call attention to itself.
Kwame Alexander’s Crossover is light on its feet—fast, smart, and gripping.
Reading Alexander's description of Josh and JB's teamwork as they moved up and down the court made me feel like I was running alongside as they passed and crossed right before the game winning shot. Kwame Alexander's words created the rhythm of the basketball as it pounds against the hardwood court and the speed of a player who steals the ball and takes it down for a slam dunk on the other end. His writing set a perfect pace to tell the complicated relationship of twin boys who share a love for basketball along with their devoted yet stubborn father. Alexander has given us a book that even the most reluctant reader can't resist. We learn some things about basketball, but a lot more about life.