For those who don't know who Jason Reynolds is, you've been missing out on a multi-award winning master wordsmith. Let's review some quick facts about him:

• He wrote his first poem at age 9 after being inspired by Queen Latifah and her music.
• He is a prolific middle grade and young adult author.
• He is the 2020-2021 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature.

Now, let’s dig a little deeper. your library makes many of Jason Reynold’s titles available through Libby, in both ebook and audiobook format. For those passionate about poetry, there is the novel in verse, Long Way Down. This gripping novel takes place over the course of one elevator ride and rest assured it will be a challenge to put down once you have started it. One Book Baltimore created a discussion guide you can use to further engage with this title. For fans of superheroes, Reynolds’ gifts readers with an excellently crafted Black and Puerto Rican teen hero in Miles Morales: Spider-Man. Short story enthusiasts should checkout Look Both Ways. While its target audience is middle grade readers, people of all ages will become invested in the parallel lives of children as they all walk home from school and encounter a school bus falling from the sky. These are only a fraction of Jason Reynolds’ works.

You can also engage with the author as more than just a reader. As a writer, you can create with this National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. The mission of the position of the Library of Congress’ National Ambassador is to demonstrate to the nation how significant of an impact young people’s literature has on lifelong literacy, education and the improvement of the lives of young people. Instead of focusing on the act of reading, Jason Reynolds is empowering kids to share their stories with his platform Grab the Mic: Tell Your Story. One way he accomplishes this and a way that you can participate is the video series, “Write. Right. Rite.” In this ongoing video series, Jason Reynolds gives kids writing prompts such as explain love to a magical pet, write about a new invention and imagine your loved one is 15 years old.