Ode to Grapefruit : How James Earl Jones Found His Voice

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.

• | Author: Kari Lavelle
• | Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
• | Publication Date: Jul 30, 2024
• | Number of Pages: 49 pages
• | Language: English
• | Binding: Hardcover
• | ISBN-10: 059337276X
• | ISBN-13: 9780593372760