The Playbook~Kwame Alexander

theplaybookpage

Riley was NOT in the mood to read with me this weekend. Do any of your students immediately feel that way when they hear the word nonfiction? Mine certainly do. But I like to encourage my students to branch out and explore a variety of genres.

The Playbook, by Kwame Alexander, is a great way to help kids do just that. This novel is a quick read because it has large font and interesting graphics or images on nearly every page. It is also incredibly motivational to students because it contains inspirational quotes and anecdotes from famous professional athletes woven seamlessly into Kwame’s stories about his own personal goals, failures, and triumphs.

The book contains 52 rules to follow to obtain success, and though the novel does focus on sports, the messages behind each rule apply to every aspect of life. After book-talking this title to my classes, I had a long waiting list of students wanting to read it, and many have enjoyed it since then. This book is great for any student interested in sports, success, or who may just need a little pick-me-up.

Buy the book here!

Maturity: 1/4This novel is appropriate for all ages.

Pages: 169This novel is a very quick read because pages often contain words intermixed with graphics and images. 

Lexile: 970L

Despite this title's high lexile level, I feel that this novel is accessible to readers scoring a 700L and up.Lexile is a score that helps educators and parents match students with an appropriate text. A Lexile score is a measure of both a child’s reading ability and a text difficulty. However, Lexile does not take into account the content of a novel. So, pairing readers with a text is a complex process, and knowledge of a novel’s themes and plot is necessary to make a high-quality recommendation.If you are curious about the grade-level equivalent to Lexile scores, check out the conversion chart here!