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.

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In the Reading Corner is presented by Nikki Gamble, Director of Just Imagine. It is produced by Alison Hughes.

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