It's time for the 14th Annual Slice of Life Story Challenge!
My theme for the Challenge is CELEBRATE
While enjoying the sunny Florida weather today by taking a long walk, I listened to Becoming Muhammed Ali by Kwame Alexander and James Patterson. Kwame narrated the audobook. I heard about the book from a teacher I was working with who is planning for novels in verse book clubs with his 4th graders. It will be one of their titles. Of course, when I hear about a book I don't know, I have to read it! In this case, I downloaded it from Overdrive and listened to it.
What a great book! I gained such an appreciation for who Muhammed Ali was, and now I want to read more! I loved that Kwame read it because I enjoy listening to him talk. It's told through prose and poetry, which is a unique format, and there are tons of opportunities for kids to write from it. There is a "Where I'm From" poem, a recipe for how Ali wanted to be remembered, "I was twelve (and thirteen)" poems, a "Before that" poem, and so much more. It's aso packed full of discussions about race and segregation, so it gives students historical context as well as invitations for more research.
Today, I celebrate audiobooks and novels in verse!
Thanks for this! I've heard great things about this book and recently sent it to my nephew, but haven't read it. I'm going to download and listen for sure!
ReplyDeleteNew to me but now I want to hear it. Novels like this sound just the ticket for hooking young readers on books and poetry.
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