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ODE TO GRAPEFRUIT: 
HOW JAMES EARL JONES FOUND HIS VOICE

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Before legendary actor James Earl Jones was recognized for his memorable, smooth voice, he was just James--a stutterer who stopped speaking for eight years as a child...and ultimately found his voice through poetry.

Before there was Mufasa...Before there was Darth Vader... There was a young boy names James Earl Jones, who spoke with a stutter and dreaded having to talk in class.

Whenever James tried to voice his thoughts, his words got stuck in his throat. But James figured out a solution for his shame: if he didn't speak, he wouldn't stutter.

And so he was silent...until he wrote his own poem, Ode to Grapefruit, and found a love for poetry.

Lyrical text, stunning art, and compelling backmatter about stuttering pair together for a remarkable picture book about how a boy who refused to speak for eight years learned to manage his stutter through poetry--and grew up to become an EGOT-winning performer with a voice few could forget.

Praise for ODE TO GRAPEFRUIT...

"A testament to poetry’s expressive powers." —Kirkus Reviews

"Thought-provoking." —Booklist

"Lavelle....sensitively captures the anxiety that may accompany the [speech] disorder and insightfully conveys the power of poetry." —The Horn Book

"Lavelle's text combined with Collier's illustrations capture the victory of James Earl Jones finding his voice." —Shelf Awareness

© 2024 KARI LAVELLE

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