The biennial “celebration of literature & belief” is returning to Calvin from April 12-14, 2018.  During that three-day span, the campus will welcome authors and illustrators from a variety of genres, including children’s and young adult (YA) fiction. Why not explore two festival guests from that genre before April?

KWAME ALEXANDER:

Kwame Alexander tells stories through a mixture of hip-hop rhythms and poetry. “You can’t go from Shel Silverstein to Shakespeare. There has to be something in the middle,” he said in an interview with the Washington Post. "I think it's my job to do that."

Try: The Crossover (PZ7.5.A44 Cr 2014, Children’s Literature Collection), his Newbery Medal-winning novel in verse, focusing on a basketball-loving middle schooler; or
Solo (PZ7.5.A44 So 2017, Children’s Literature Collection), his book with Mary Ann Hess about the seventeen-year-old son of a fallen rock star.

SARA ZARR:

Sara Zarr’s books wrestle with the difficulty of growing up from a wide variety of teenage perspectives. Even if the situation might be unfamiliar -- leaving a cult, coping with the label “school slut,” or becoming an adoptive sister -- her stories connect with her readers in surprising and moving ways.

Try: Story of a Girl a National Book Award Finalist (PZ7.Z26715 Sto 2008), about family, mistakes, and moving forward; or Gem & Dixie (still in process; put a hold on it online!), in which two sisters struggle to connect despite their difficult parents and their clashing personalities.

(Written by Courtney Zonnefeld, Research Desk Assistant).