Kwame Alexander - The Door of No Return

04/05/23 • 35 min

Kwame Alexander is an American poet and author of books for children, including the verse novel The Crossover, which was awarded the Newbery Medal in 2015 and is the basis for a new series from Disney Plus (2023). It is also available in a graphic novel adaptation illustrated by Dawud Anyabwile. Kwame's novels often use sport as a metaphor for the characters' struggles or the books' themes. In Booked, the sport is football, And in his most recent book, The Door of No Return, the main character, Kofi, is learning how to swim,
Kwame's father was an academic and activist in the civil rights movement. And Kwame has written a picture book, Undefeated, celebrating Black History and the extraordinary strength and bravery of those that transcended their circumstances.
Two new books, The Door of No Return and the picturebook Unspoken (published in the US as An American Story), also assert this strength and the refusal to be defined by one aspect of Black History - slavery.
In this episode, Kwame talks with Nikki Gamble about both books and their origins.
About The Door of No Return
Eleven-year-old Kofi Offin has dreams of water, of its urgent whisper that beckons with promises and secrets. He has heard the call on the banks of Upper Kwanta, where he lives.
He loves these things above all else: his family, the fireside tales of his father's father, a girl named Ama, and, of course, swimming. But when the unthinkable - a sudden death - occurs during a festival between rival villages, Kofi ends up in a fight for his life. What happens next will send him on a harrowing journey across land and sea, and away from everything he loves.
Yet Kofi's dreams may be the key to his freedom...
About Unspoken
How do you tell a story that starts in Africa and ends in horror? About strength and pride and refusing to be broken? One that still hurts and still loves?A powerfully moving, poetic exploration of the story of slavery: from Africa to the tall ships, from back-breaking work in a strange land to resilience and eventual emancipation, Kwame Alexander tells the story that's hard to hear. Told through the lens of a teacher speaking to their young pupils, and in multiple art styles from award-winning artist and sculptor Dare Coulter, the story of slavery becomes one that you can tell with the bravery to lift your voice.

Support the show

Thank you for listening.
If you enjoyed this podcast, please support us by subscribing to our channel. And if you are interested in the books we have featured, purchasing from our online bookshop Bestbooksforschools.com
In the Reading Corner is presented by Nikki Gamble, Director of Just Imagine. It is produced by Alison Hughes.
Follow us on Youtube for more author events YouTube.com/@nikkigamble1
For general news and updates, follow us on Twitter @imaginecentre
Full details about the range of services we provide can be found on our website www.justimagine.co.uk

Support the show

Previous Episode

Mariajo Illustrajo - Lost

Mariajo Illustrajo is a Spanish designer, printmaker and illustrator living in the UK. After studying at the art school in Madrid, she moved to Bath, where she completed a degree in Graphic Communication. Later she graduated from the Cambridge School of Art at Anglia Ruskin University with an MA in Children's Book Illustration. In 2020 she was the overall winner of the World Illustration Awards.
To date, Mariajo has produced two children's books: Flooded and Lost, published by Frances Lincoln.
In this episode, she joined Nikki Gamble to talk about her journey to children's book illustration and how her picturebooks were conceived.
Read our review of Flooded on the Just Imagine website
Purchase Flooded from our bookselling partner Best Books for Schools.
Flooded is a funny and beautifully illustrated tale of animals living in a city that is slowly flooding. The flood comes gradually at first. All the animals ignore the obvious and go about their busy lives, disjointed from one another and preoccupied with their own problems.
Eventually, the flood water reaches a height they can no longer ignore, and they must work together to save their city. All the animals join together in a line and pull out the plug drowning the city. This exceptionally illustrated story teaches a message not to let problems fester, and with a little teamwork and community spirit, no problem is insurmountable.
About Lost
Lost is the story of a polar bear who finds himself lost and alone in the big, cold city until a young girl takes him under her wing, showing him that there is love, friendship, and help to be found even in the loneliest of places...

Support the show

Next Episode

Jasmine Richards

Jasmine Richards is an author, editor and entrepreneur. She's the founder of Storymix, a company with a mission to increase the visibility of characters of colour in children's books and to mentor writers of colour in the early stages of their writing careers.
Jasmine's books include Oliver Twisted and The Unmorrow Curse and Oliver Twisted (under the pseudonym J D Sharpe).
Books from the Storymix studio include Aziza and the Fairy Door, Future Hero and Granny Jinx.
Jasmine joined Nikki Gamble In the Reading Corner to talk about her career in publishing and her hopes for the future of Storymix.
All books are available from our partner bookseller Best Books for Schools

Support the show

In the Reading Corner - Kwame Alexander - The Door of No Return

Transcript

Kwame Alexander00:00:23.760

Hello everyone, and welcome to another episode of In The Reading Corner. I'm Nikki Gamble and it's a huge pleasure to welcome back Kwame Alexander, poet, novelist educator, and film producer now and general inspirer. We're

Kwame Alexander00:00:40.359

g oing t o be talking about two very important books, his new v erse novel, T he Door of No Return, and a picture book published here in the UK as U nspoken, but