J vs. K

2027 Georgia Children’s Book Award winner 2026 CBC Kids Favorite 2026 CBC Teachers Favorite 2026-2027 Florida Sunshine State Young Readers Award winner 2027 Maud Hart Lovelace Book Award nominee“Kwame Alexander and Jerry Craft (or Jerry Craft and Kwame Alexander, depending on who you ask) not only produce a fun story with lively illustrations, but also sneak in lessons for kids on how to tap into their own creativity, maybe write and draw their own stuff. To which I say yay and amen!”–NPR“Craft and Alexander have a lively friendly rivalry on display in social media posts and joint school visits, and this highly illustrated novel… is the perfect playground for their fictional counterparts–and for themselves.”–The Horn Book* “Alexander (How Sweet the Sound) and Craft (School Trip) emphasize the importance of nurturing creative expression and healthy competition in this meta illustrated collaboration.” –Publishers Weekly, starred review* “An absolute must-purchase powerhouse of a hybrid illustrated novel packed with humor, storycrafting lessons, and a great rivals-to-teammates tale.”–SLJ, starred review“J vs. K will certainly inspire kids to write and draw, but to me… [it’s] a reminder to keep seeking and stoking each other’s light, knowing that no matter how dark things get we will burn more brightly together.” –New York Times Book Review* “Two Newbery winners concoct a tale … offering plenty of authorial interjections and good advice about crafting and revising stories and pictures. Readers will have as much fun with this as the coauthors plainly did–and that’s no codswallop.”–Booklist, starred review

Kwame Alexander is a poet, educator, publisher, and New York Times bestselling author of more than 35 books, including the Caldecott Medal and Newbery Honor-winning picture book The Undefeated, illustrated by Kadir Nelson, the Newbery medal-winning novel, The Crossover, Becoming Muhammad Ali, co-authored with James Patterson, Booked, which was longlisted for the National Book Award, Rebound, Solo and Swing. A regular contributor to NPR’s Morning Edition, Kwame is also the recipient of numerous other awards, including the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, the Coretta Scott King Author Honor, three NAACP Image Award Nominations, and the 2017 Inaugural Pat Conroy Legacy Award.

Jerry Craft is the New York Times bestselling author and illustrator of the graphic novels New Kid, Class Act and School Trip. New Kid is the only novel to ever win the John Newbery Medal, the Kirkus Prize, and the Coretta Scott King Author Award. Jerry is also a co-founder of the Schomburg’s Annual Black Comic Book Festival. He was born in Harlem and grew up in the Washington Heights section of New York City. He lives with his family in Connecticut.

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