Kick off Kids Reading Across RI 2021 with the recording of the April 29, 2021 virtual discussion with Becoming Muhammad Ali authors James Patterson and Kwame Alexander. Schools, public libraries, learning pods, homeschoolers, and children's literature lovers are invited to celebrate this year's selection and the dynamic authors who have brought Muhammad Ali's story to a new generation.
May 13, 1pm Kids Reading Across RI Poetry Reading
Kids Reading Across RI 2021 presents a celebration of Muhammad Ali and poetry in support of this year's KRARI selection Becoming Muhammad Ali by James Patterson and Kwame Alexander. Join us for readings and discussion with Rhode Island Poet Laureate Tina Cane, Rhode Island Deputy Youth Poet Laureate Eugenie Rose Belony, April Brown, Len Cabral, and Jacqueline Woodson.
Poems and work referenced:
NBC 10 WJAR sports director and anchor Frank Carpano remembers local and national boxing stories and highlights the accomplishments of Muhammad Ali. Ali is celebrated in the 2021 Kids Reading Across RI selection Becoming Muhammad Ali by James Patterson and Kwame Alexander.
Celebrate the 2021 KRARI selection Becoming Muhammad Ali by James Patterson and Kwame Alexander. Learn how to create an origami butterfly and bee in honor of Muhammad Ali's famous quote, “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. The hands can’t hit what the eyes can’t see.” Presented by Carole Walsh.
Becoming Muhammad Ali
Before he was a household name, Cassius Clay was a kid with struggles like any other. Kwame Alexander and James Patterson join forces to vividly depict his life up to age seventeen in both prose and verse, including his childhood friends, struggles in school, the racism he faced, and his discovery of boxing. Readers will learn about Cassius' family and neighbors in Louisville, Kentucky, and how, after a thief stole his bike, Cassius began training as an amateur boxer at age twelve. Before long, he won his first Golden Gloves bout and began his transformation into the unrivaled Muhammad Ali.
James Patterson
James Patterson is the world’s bestselling author. The creator of Max Einstein and Middle School, he founded JIMMY Patterson to publish books that young readers will love. He lives in Florida with his family.
Kwame Alexander
Kwame Alexander is the New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty books, including his Newbery Medal-winning novel The Crossover and The Undefeated, winner of the Caldecott Medal and Newbery Honor. He is the founding editor of Versify, which aims to change the world one word at a time..