James Finds the Beat
Hearing the beat helps James discover the courage to use his voice and find his community.

James is great at tests and homework, but speaking up in class? No way. Just the thought fills his chest with bumblebees. The one thing that makes the bees calm down is music. James can't bring music with him to class, though, or to the second worse place in school: the lunchroom. Everyone already has their friends; James is the odd one out. Until one day, he goes to lunch and hears something familiar. BOOM, TAP, BOOM, TAP, BOOM, TAP, TAP! Kids are rapping in a cypher! When the girl rapping passes the beat to James, he hesitates . . . until he gets lost in the music and finds his voice.

Bringing together a celebration of rap and an empowering mental health awareness message, James Finds the Beat features a young boy who struggles with social anxiety and who finds his voice and his community through music. An endnote includes discussion questions inviting children to explore the story and its ideas further.

1144975610
James Finds the Beat
Hearing the beat helps James discover the courage to use his voice and find his community.

James is great at tests and homework, but speaking up in class? No way. Just the thought fills his chest with bumblebees. The one thing that makes the bees calm down is music. James can't bring music with him to class, though, or to the second worse place in school: the lunchroom. Everyone already has their friends; James is the odd one out. Until one day, he goes to lunch and hears something familiar. BOOM, TAP, BOOM, TAP, BOOM, TAP, TAP! Kids are rapping in a cypher! When the girl rapping passes the beat to James, he hesitates . . . until he gets lost in the music and finds his voice.

Bringing together a celebration of rap and an empowering mental health awareness message, James Finds the Beat features a young boy who struggles with social anxiety and who finds his voice and his community through music. An endnote includes discussion questions inviting children to explore the story and its ideas further.

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James Finds the Beat

James Finds the Beat

Overview

Hearing the beat helps James discover the courage to use his voice and find his community.

James is great at tests and homework, but speaking up in class? No way. Just the thought fills his chest with bumblebees. The one thing that makes the bees calm down is music. James can't bring music with him to class, though, or to the second worse place in school: the lunchroom. Everyone already has their friends; James is the odd one out. Until one day, he goes to lunch and hears something familiar. BOOM, TAP, BOOM, TAP, BOOM, TAP, TAP! Kids are rapping in a cypher! When the girl rapping passes the beat to James, he hesitates . . . until he gets lost in the music and finds his voice.

Bringing together a celebration of rap and an empowering mental health awareness message, James Finds the Beat features a young boy who struggles with social anxiety and who finds his voice and his community through music. An endnote includes discussion questions inviting children to explore the story and its ideas further.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9798885545303
Publisher: Free Spirit Publishing
Publication date: 10/22/2024
Pages: 36
Product dimensions: 10.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.33(d)
Lexile: 590L (what's this?)
Age Range: 5 - 10 Years

About the Author

Ty Chapman is an author and poet based in Minnesota. In addition to James Finds the Beat, he is the author of Sarah Rising, Looking for Happy, Stokes (written with John Coy), and Tartarus. Ty was a 2022 Center for Arts + Social Justice Fellow, an award used to support a speculative work in progress with social justice themes. He was also a Mirrors & Windows fellow, as well as a Mentor Series fellow and a finalist for Tin House's 2022 Fall Residency, Button Poetry's 2020 Chapbook Contest, and Frontier Magazine's New Voices Contest. He holds a master's degree in writing for children and young adults from VCFA. When Ty isn't writing, he's usually playing pickup basketball, playing board games with his friends, or petting his two cats, Alabaster and Hobbes.


Anastasia Magloire Williams is an illustrator, writer, and graphic designer living in sunny Florida, USA. Raised on a healthy diet of books, animation, and games, Anastasia's childhood (and the art education that followed) prepared her well for a lifetime of storytelling. Forever a student, she continues to grow in her preferred digital medium, combining traditional illustration techniques with the flexibility of computer software. With rich texture, dynamic line, vibrant color, and design savvy, Anastasia uses various styles to bring her clients' stories to life, as well as her own. Above all, Ana's mission is to be a vehicle for diversity and representation in entertainment and children's media—to tell untold stories that reflect the beautiful world we all share. When she is not tapping away at her tablet, she enjoys gaming with her husband, fantasy romance novels, tending to her plants, and ice in all of her drinks.

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