THE LEDGER | No. 2
Focus: News, Updates, and Book Releases
Word Magic
by Phillip Shabazz (Author)
Format: Paperback
Unlock the power of poetry and transform young readers into confident writers.
Word Magic: A Poetry Workbook for Grades 4-8 is an engaging, accessible guide designed to take the mystery out of creative writing and make poetry an exciting adventure. Built specifically for upper elementary and middle school students, this hands-on workbook gives young authors the tools, techniques, and inspiration they need to turn everyday thoughts, feelings, and observations into vivid verse.
Whether used in the classroom, in homeschooling environments, or for independent practice at home, Word Magic bridges the gap between reading poetry and writing it. Through structured prompts, accessible form guides, and practical literary exercises, students learn to play with language, explore rhythm and imagery, and discover their authentic creative voices.
Inside Word Magic, students and educators will discover:
Step-by-Step Writing Guides: Clear, approachable breakdowns of classic and contemporary poetic forms-from haiku and list poems to free verse, acrostics, and spoken-word styles.
Engaging Creative Prompts: Dozens of imaginative exercises designed to spark ideas, overcome blank-page anxiety, and encourage self-expression.
Essential Literary Craft Tools: Practical lessons on sensory details, metaphor, simile, line breaks, tone, and sound devices made easy for middle-grade readers.
Interactive Draft-and-Revise Worksheets: Dedicated spaces for brainstorming, drafting, polishing, and sharing original work.
Ideal for language arts lesson plans, creative writing clubs, national poetry month units, or young writers eager to practice on their own, Word Magic proves that writing poetry isn't just an academic assignment, it's a joyful, empowering skill that lasts a lifetime.
J-Man never planned to be a poet. He planned to survive River Rock, play ball with The Club, keep his head down, make it to eighteen. But when Uncle Bo dies, everything collapses. What's left is a red notebook, a pen, and a question: can words fight back?
Under Mr. Mack's guidance, J-Man studies the tradition-Gwendolyn Brooks, Etheridge Knight, poets who turned pain into resistance. He learns from Polar Bear, a homeless artist whose graffiti speaks truth. He watches Dexter, once the best poet in town, drink himself into irrelevance. And he faces an impossible choice: when your crew demands blood and your notebook demands truth, which one do you serve?
This is a novel about what it costs to find your voice when the world wants you voiceless. About fathers and sons learning to speak after years of silence. About first love, last chances, and burning down what no longer serves you. About building something new from the ashes.
In River Rock, everyone knows the rules. J-Man's about to break every single one, not with fists, but with the most dangerous weapon of all: a poem that refuses to lie.
