BATTLE OF THE BOOKS
  • Home
  • 2022
    • A Wish in the Dark
    • All Thirteen
    • Before the Ever After
    • Caterpillar Summer
    • Dragon Hoops
    • Efren Divided
    • From the Desk of Zoe Washington
    • Gone to the Woods
    • Ground Zero
    • Hunger
    • I will always Write Back
    • Instant Karma
    • My Side of the Mountain
    • Never Caught
    • On the Horizon
    • Prairie Lotus
    • Puppet's Payback
    • Rescue
    • Show me a Sign
    • Song for a Whale
    • Spark
    • Strongheart
    • Three Keys
    • Trapped in Hitlers Web
    • Tristan Strong
    • Verify
    • War Stories
    • We Must not Forget
    • When Stars are Scattered
    • When you Trap a Tiger
    • Wild River
    • Wink
  • 2021
    • The 57 Bus
    • Above
    • All the Lovely Bad Ones
    • Allies
    • Because of the Rabbit
    • City of Ghosts
    • Clean Getaway
    • The Dark is Rising
    • Don't Tell the Nazis
    • A Drop of Hope
    • Echo Mountain
    • Endling the First
    • Finding Langston
    • The Fountains of Silence
    • Genesis Begins Again
    • Look Both Ways
    • Maybe He Just Likes You
    • Momentous Events in the Life of a Cactus
    • My Year in the Middle
    • New Kid
    • The One and Only Bob
    • Other Words for Home
    • The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise
    • A Single Shard
    • Stepsister
    • They Called Us Enemy
    • Thunder Head
    • The Traitor's Game
    • What'sHisFace
    • Where the Heart Is
    • Wildfire
    • Words on Fire
  • 2020
    • Grades 3-5 >
      • Amal Unbound
      • Among the Impostors
      • Blended
      • Endling the Last
      • Front Desk
      • The Girl in the Locked Room
      • Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus
      • The Losers Club
      • Not if I Save you First
      • The Perfect Score
      • Ryan Quinn and the Lion's Claw
      • The Time of the Fireflies
    • Grades 3-8 >
      • Ban this Book
      • Breakout
      • Grenade
      • The Night Diary
      • Patina
      • SLOB
      • Stolen Girl
      • The Unteachables
    • Grades 6-8 >
      • Cameron Waldo
      • The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
      • The Bridge Home
      • The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
      • Internment
      • The Mechanical Mind of John Coggin
      • Monument 14
      • Never Say Die
      • Resistance
      • To Right the Wrongs
      • Shouting at the Rain
      • Warcross
      • Wind in the Willows
  • 2019
  • 2018
  • 2017
  • About
  • Contact
  • Rules
  • Books I've Read
    • Abby Helms
    • Abel Hoffman
    • Abigail Lashley
    • Adrian Sand
    • Adelyn Wells
    • Alex Klatt-terabelian
    • Allegra Johnson
    • Alyvia Rabe
    • Anna Hamilton
    • Anna Lind
    • Asher Gerlach
    • Asher Ham
    • Ashlyn Wendell
    • Ashton Brown
    • Augustus Haack
    • Bailey Dallmann
    • Baylee Kipp
    • Bailey Wilfahrt
    • Baylee Kipp
    • Beckett Ehrke
    • Braxton Mitchell
    • Briar Gunderson
    • Brigitte Basurto
    • Brittyn Frasier
    • Brody Dieghenbaugh
    • Brogan Pittz
    • Calin Light
    • Cameron Waldo
    • Camryn Jo Bunger
    • Carson Hamilton
    • Cash Schnuerle
    • Charlotte Nicholson
    • Chloe Henry
    • Cohen Wright
    • Colyns Mowry
    • Connor Edwards
    • Coralee Schurr
    • Corbyn Wright
    • Dakota Deterding
    • Dinah Sandman
    • Elin Patterson
    • Elsie Donley
    • Elsie Strand
    • Emily Lewis
    • Emma George
    • Emmett Nitchie
    • Evelyn Frerichs
    • Ford Mach
    • Gabriel Ayres
    • Gabriella Robinson
    • Gavin Kassing
    • Grayson Bray
    • Hadleigh Wasenius
    • Hailey Cepel
    • Ivy Nelson
    • Haisley McQuiston
    • Haley Downer
    • Hudson Schmidt
    • Ivy Nelson
    • Jackson Deaver
    • Jacob Jezbera
    • Jaelyn Bradley
    • Jaxton Stottler
    • Jayda Kincade
    • Jayden Glassmeyer
    • Jemma Just
    • Jerome Bieghler
    • John Wegner
    • Jonah Fegley
    • Juno Tischner
    • Kaden Russell
    • Kaden Schriner
    • KAIDEN KLEIN
    • Kaison Most
    • Kaitlyn Catanese
    • Kaiya
    • Kallie Wright
    • Kami Goedert
    • Kara Brockman
    • Karter Tilson
    • Katie Florell
    • Kenley Haussermann
    • Kinley Christensen
    • Kinley Hansen
    • Kyler Peterson
    • Kyper Vaughn
    • Kyler Schroeder
    • Kylie Koeppen
    • Kyper Vaughn
    • Kyrie Houghtelling
    • Kyson Bose
    • Laura Behrhorst
    • Lauren Quinn
    • Layla Popple
    • Leah DeWald
    • Leanna Ellingson
    • Lillian Helms
    • Logan Strolberg
    • Luke Lush
    • Lydia McGowen
    • Maddox Hartzog
    • Madi Trambly
    • Maggie Rawson
    • Mark Mahalek
    • Marley Hutchens
    • Marley Thorell
    • Mavrik
    • Mick Pfeil
    • Mikayla Kenton
    • Mistica Martin
    • Myley
    • Oliver Deibler
    • Palmer Loberg
    • Payton Adams
    • Peyton Soucie
    • Pierce Hytrek
    • Porter Wohlgemuth
    • Regina Pena
    • Rihanna Botello
    • Ruby Edwards
    • Rylan Lush
    • Santiago Carrasco Aguirre
    • Sofia Alvarez
    • Sutton Strong
    • Trinity Kappes
    • Truman Fennel
    • Whitney Wall
    • Will Nickerson
    • Wyatt Rice
    • Xavier Picotte
Picture
​WINNER OF THE NAACP IMAGE AWARD


WINNER OF THE CORETTA SCOTT KING AUTHOR AWARD
 
National Book Award winner Jacqueline Woodson's stirring novel-in-verse explores how a family moves forward when their glory days have passed and the cost of professional sports on Black bodies.


For as long as ZJ can remember, his dad has been everyone's hero. As a charming, talented pro football star, he's as beloved to the neighborhood kids he plays with as he is to his millions of adoring sports fans. But lately life at ZJ's house is anything but charming. His dad is having trouble remembering things and seems to be angry all the time. ZJ's mom explains it's because of all the head injuries his dad sustained during his career. ZJ can understand that--but it doesn't make the sting any less real when his own father forgets his name. As ZJ contemplates his new reality, he has to figure out how to hold on tight to family traditions and recollections of the glory days, all the while wondering what their past amounts to if his father can't remember it. And most importantly, can those happy feelings ever be reclaimed when they are all so busy aching for the past?
Activity 1:
Complete this activity worksheet.

Activity 2:
In Before the Ever After, JZ's dad gets CTE (Chronic traumatic encephalopathy). What is that? Do some research on it and present it to me in your choice of presentation. It can be in writing, poster form, oral presentation - your choice.

Activity 3: 
Throughout the Covid19 pandemic, we have heard many references to “the new normal,” accompanied by a strong longing to return to ‘normal.’ For many families who have suffered losses during this time period, this is a paradox. They know that a return to normal is not possible and that they will continue to need to navigate change, loss, and grief even when restrictions are lifted. Woodson’s poem “Back Then” plays on the football term ‘holding’ to share ZJ’s struggles with his changing reality: “I feel like someone’s holding us, keeping us from getting back to where we were before and keeping us from the next place too.” How do you relate to the quote and how do you feel differently?  Reflect on the concept of “normal.” Compose a free verse poem exploring your experiences of life before, during, and after the pandemic. Do you, like ZJ, think you can ever be normal again?
  • Home
  • 2022
    • A Wish in the Dark
    • All Thirteen
    • Before the Ever After
    • Caterpillar Summer
    • Dragon Hoops
    • Efren Divided
    • From the Desk of Zoe Washington
    • Gone to the Woods
    • Ground Zero
    • Hunger
    • I will always Write Back
    • Instant Karma
    • My Side of the Mountain
    • Never Caught
    • On the Horizon
    • Prairie Lotus
    • Puppet's Payback
    • Rescue
    • Show me a Sign
    • Song for a Whale
    • Spark
    • Strongheart
    • Three Keys
    • Trapped in Hitlers Web
    • Tristan Strong
    • Verify
    • War Stories
    • We Must not Forget
    • When Stars are Scattered
    • When you Trap a Tiger
    • Wild River
    • Wink
  • 2021
    • The 57 Bus
    • Above
    • All the Lovely Bad Ones
    • Allies
    • Because of the Rabbit
    • City of Ghosts
    • Clean Getaway
    • The Dark is Rising
    • Don't Tell the Nazis
    • A Drop of Hope
    • Echo Mountain
    • Endling the First
    • Finding Langston
    • The Fountains of Silence
    • Genesis Begins Again
    • Look Both Ways
    • Maybe He Just Likes You
    • Momentous Events in the Life of a Cactus
    • My Year in the Middle
    • New Kid
    • The One and Only Bob
    • Other Words for Home
    • The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise
    • A Single Shard
    • Stepsister
    • They Called Us Enemy
    • Thunder Head
    • The Traitor's Game
    • What'sHisFace
    • Where the Heart Is
    • Wildfire
    • Words on Fire
  • 2020
    • Grades 3-5 >
      • Amal Unbound
      • Among the Impostors
      • Blended
      • Endling the Last
      • Front Desk
      • The Girl in the Locked Room
      • Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus
      • The Losers Club
      • Not if I Save you First
      • The Perfect Score
      • Ryan Quinn and the Lion's Claw
      • The Time of the Fireflies
    • Grades 3-8 >
      • Ban this Book
      • Breakout
      • Grenade
      • The Night Diary
      • Patina
      • SLOB
      • Stolen Girl
      • The Unteachables
    • Grades 6-8 >
      • Cameron Waldo
      • The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
      • The Bridge Home
      • The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
      • Internment
      • The Mechanical Mind of John Coggin
      • Monument 14
      • Never Say Die
      • Resistance
      • To Right the Wrongs
      • Shouting at the Rain
      • Warcross
      • Wind in the Willows
  • 2019
  • 2018
  • 2017
  • About
  • Contact
  • Rules
  • Books I've Read
    • Abby Helms
    • Abel Hoffman
    • Abigail Lashley
    • Adrian Sand
    • Adelyn Wells
    • Alex Klatt-terabelian
    • Allegra Johnson
    • Alyvia Rabe
    • Anna Hamilton
    • Anna Lind
    • Asher Gerlach
    • Asher Ham
    • Ashlyn Wendell
    • Ashton Brown
    • Augustus Haack
    • Bailey Dallmann
    • Baylee Kipp
    • Bailey Wilfahrt
    • Baylee Kipp
    • Beckett Ehrke
    • Braxton Mitchell
    • Briar Gunderson
    • Brigitte Basurto
    • Brittyn Frasier
    • Brody Dieghenbaugh
    • Brogan Pittz
    • Calin Light
    • Cameron Waldo
    • Camryn Jo Bunger
    • Carson Hamilton
    • Cash Schnuerle
    • Charlotte Nicholson
    • Chloe Henry
    • Cohen Wright
    • Colyns Mowry
    • Connor Edwards
    • Coralee Schurr
    • Corbyn Wright
    • Dakota Deterding
    • Dinah Sandman
    • Elin Patterson
    • Elsie Donley
    • Elsie Strand
    • Emily Lewis
    • Emma George
    • Emmett Nitchie
    • Evelyn Frerichs
    • Ford Mach
    • Gabriel Ayres
    • Gabriella Robinson
    • Gavin Kassing
    • Grayson Bray
    • Hadleigh Wasenius
    • Hailey Cepel
    • Ivy Nelson
    • Haisley McQuiston
    • Haley Downer
    • Hudson Schmidt
    • Ivy Nelson
    • Jackson Deaver
    • Jacob Jezbera
    • Jaelyn Bradley
    • Jaxton Stottler
    • Jayda Kincade
    • Jayden Glassmeyer
    • Jemma Just
    • Jerome Bieghler
    • John Wegner
    • Jonah Fegley
    • Juno Tischner
    • Kaden Russell
    • Kaden Schriner
    • KAIDEN KLEIN
    • Kaison Most
    • Kaitlyn Catanese
    • Kaiya
    • Kallie Wright
    • Kami Goedert
    • Kara Brockman
    • Karter Tilson
    • Katie Florell
    • Kenley Haussermann
    • Kinley Christensen
    • Kinley Hansen
    • Kyler Peterson
    • Kyper Vaughn
    • Kyler Schroeder
    • Kylie Koeppen
    • Kyper Vaughn
    • Kyrie Houghtelling
    • Kyson Bose
    • Laura Behrhorst
    • Lauren Quinn
    • Layla Popple
    • Leah DeWald
    • Leanna Ellingson
    • Lillian Helms
    • Logan Strolberg
    • Luke Lush
    • Lydia McGowen
    • Maddox Hartzog
    • Madi Trambly
    • Maggie Rawson
    • Mark Mahalek
    • Marley Hutchens
    • Marley Thorell
    • Mavrik
    • Mick Pfeil
    • Mikayla Kenton
    • Mistica Martin
    • Myley
    • Oliver Deibler
    • Palmer Loberg
    • Payton Adams
    • Peyton Soucie
    • Pierce Hytrek
    • Porter Wohlgemuth
    • Regina Pena
    • Rihanna Botello
    • Ruby Edwards
    • Rylan Lush
    • Santiago Carrasco Aguirre
    • Sofia Alvarez
    • Sutton Strong
    • Trinity Kappes
    • Truman Fennel
    • Whitney Wall
    • Will Nickerson
    • Wyatt Rice
    • Xavier Picotte