Best-Selling Author Kwame Alexander to Romeoville Students: 'Be A Star'

“Be a star in your own mind, day and night.”

That was the message New York Times best-selling author Kwame Alexander left with Lukancic sixth- and seventh-graders during a visit to the Romeoville middle school Wednesday.

Utilizing an entertaining combination of music, talk and audience interaction, the 2015 Newberry Award winner detailed his career which began with a simple poem for his mom and has evolved into 24 poetry books, novels and picture books for children of all ages.

He spoke of rejection and dejection as he tried to find someone to publish some of his books.

“I didn’t know what to do, but I was determined not to give up,” Alexander said. “What do you do? Keep trying. I believe that the NO’s are part of life. You have to learn to say ‘yes’ to yourself.”

His Newberry Award-winning book “The Crossover” is a poetry-based collection of basketball rules for life, including one of his favorite axioms: “If you miss enough of life’s free throws, you will pay in the end.”

“I believe that books can change the world,” Alexander said, adding that his goal as he travels around the world is to “plant the seeds of literary love.”

Among the books Alexander has written are “Animal Ark” with photos and poems about saving endangered animals and “Booked” about a boy who loves soccer but hates reading.

His next book, “Rebound,” will be a prequel to “The Crossover.”

Submitted by Valley View School District