Fine Arts Night: For Every One

Jason Reynolds is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than a dozen books for young people, including Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks, All American Boys, Long Way Down, and Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You. The recipient of a Newbery Honor, a Printz Honor, an NAACP Image Award, and multiple Coretta Scott King honors, Reynolds is also the current National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. He lives in Washington, DC.

Information adapted from https://www.jasonwritesbooks.com.

1.  Select your favorite three pages in the poetry walk. Discuss why these pages stood out to you.

2. What did you think the title meant before reading "For Every One"? What do you think the title "For Every One" means now that you have completed the poetry walk?

3. Select the most powerful part of the poem for you. Explain your choice.

4. Connect the poem "For Every One" to a memory of your own. Discuss your connection.

5. Which do you like better the opening lines of the poem or the closing lines of the poem? Explain your choice.

• Jason Reynolds' website
• "How a kid who didn’t read a book until he was 17 grew up to become a literary star" from The Washington Post
• Jump Anyway — and Other Words to Live by from Brightly
• Jason Reynolds Is on a Mission from The New York Times

On January 13, 2020, the Library of Congress, the Children’s Book Council, and Every Child a Reader announced the appointment of Jason Reynolds as the seventh National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature for 2020-2021. One of his projects as Ambassador was "Write. Right. Rite," a video series all about learning the ritual of “authentic”—not to be confused with “correct” or “exact”—expression.

Throughout the series, he shares his passion for storytelling while discussing topics like creativity, connection, and imagination. At the end of each video, Reynolds shares a prompt that encourages young people to work toward a specific idea. The activities are fun-filled and some are more challenging than others, but Reynolds always makes sure to include brainstorming “get-you-going” questions.

A Poetry Walk is a way to enjoy reading, poetry, and movement at the same time. Laminated pages from Jason Reynold's book-length poem "For Every One" are displayed throughout the hallways at Memorial. As you read, you'll be directed down the hall to the next page in the poem. The Poetry Walk starts and ends at the bulletin board across from the library.

Our Poetry Walk is based on The StoryWalk® Project. The StoryWalk® Project was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, VT and developed in collaboration with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library. StoryWalk® is a registered service mark owned by Ms. Ferguson. 

“A lyrical masterpiece.” —School Library Journal (starred review)

Originally performed at the Kennedy Center for the unveiling of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, and later as a tribute to Walter Dean Myers, this stirring and inspirational poem is New York Times bestselling author and National Book Award finalist Jason Reynolds’s rallying cry to the young dreamers of the world.

For Every One is exactly that: for every one. For every one person. For every one who has a dream. But especially for every kid. The kids who dream of being better than they are. Kids who dream of doing more than they almost dare to imagine. Kids who are like Jason Reynolds, a self-professed dreamer. Jason does not claim to know how to make dreams come true; he has, in fact, been fighting on the front line of his own battle to make his own dreams a reality. He expected to make it when he was sixteen. Then eighteen. Then twenty-five. Now, some of those expectations have been realized. But others, the most important ones, lay ahead, and a lot of them involve kids, how to inspire them: All the kids who are scared to dream, or don’t know how to dream, or don’t dare to dream because they’ve NEVER seen a dream come true. Jason wants kids to know that dreams take time. They involve countless struggles. But no matter how many times a dreamer gets beat down, the drive and the passion and the hope never fully extinguishes—because simply having the dream is the start you need, or you won’t get anywhere anyway, and that is when you have to take a leap of faith.

Publisher description retrieved from Google Books.