J is the undisputed king of creativity of the fifth grade at Dean Ashley Public School—all three classes. Pencil and notebook always in hand, he can draw absolutely anything and he’s confident enough to think he might have a chance at winning the school’s storytelling contest, usually dominated by eighth graders. Then he notices the new kid K, walking around with a notebook. Wait a minute, he’s not an artist too, is he? That’s my thing, J thinks. It turns out K is a wordsmith extraordinaire. Is he a rival who might de-throne J, or could these two talents be unstoppable when they join forces?
Readers find out in J vs. K, a collaboration between Newbery Medalists Jerry Craft and Kwame Alexander, coming out from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, out May 6, 2025. The cover, designed by Karina Granda and featuring an illustration by Craft, is shown here for the first time. J, clutching a pencil and a drawing, and K, notebook in hand, are locked in a creative showdown, giving readers a preview of the epic face-off to come.
A dynamic blend of comics, illustration, poetry, dialogue, and prose, J vs. K presents a playful rivalry that entertains while helping kids explore their own artistic impulses and giving them advice and encouragement about the creative process. While the storytelling competition is the backdrop and the characters’ friendly-ish feud takes center stage, the two authors also pull back the curtain on the elements of story (it “should have at least one character (human, animal, or alien) AND it MUST have a beginning, a middle, and an end,” according to the rules of the creative storytelling contest. Turning an idea into a story is a messy process with lots of twists and turns, and Craft and Alexander share their own creative experimentation throughout, including rewriting and reworking on the page. Using their characteristic humor, they emphasize that friends (and rivals) can push each other to be their best, even if (or especially if) that means using some well-aimed, good-natured gibes.
The two authors met in 2010 when they had both been self-publishing and were breaking into traditional publishing. Craft said meeting Alexander inspired him to strive for a higher level in his career. When Alexander won the Newbery Medal in 2015 for The Crossover, Craft said he was on notice to up his game.
At the same time, Craft was on Alexander’s radar. “I’ve always been a fan of Jerry’s and genuinely thought he was a cool guy. The bitterness began in 2019 when I was on course to win every major award and showed up at the Kirkus Awards. Lo and behold, they chose some book called New Kid,” he joked.
The two started an ongoing Twitter/X faux feud, trading digs. “We have similar senses of humor,” Craft said.
“I am trying to out-funny Jerry on social media and am losing horribly,” Alexander said.
Craft said that “on paper,” they have reasons to be jealous of each other—it’s a small group at the top of kids’ publishing and they’re always up for the same awards. Still, he added, when he won the Newbery, Alexander was the first to call and congratulate him. “He’s a classy guy,” Craft said, adding that he was genuinely thrilled for Alexander when he won his Emmy for The Crossover, the TV series based on his book.
Through the years, Craft floated the idea of a collaboration. After about three years of trying to convince Alexander, who was often busy with other projects, he finally wrote a draft of a first chapter and sent it to him. That was enough to get the ball rolling. The authors’ friendly one-upsmanship online and in life informed the characters. J and K love to rib each other, beefing about the superiority of words versus pictures, and finding out that maybe they are not so different after all. Through J and K’s story, kids can see that there’s not “one single way to grow up to be an author or a creative person,” Craft said.
“J and K both want to be better,” Alexander said. “If they collaborate, that’s best of all.” He added that their friendship not only makes the two better creatives, but better people.
While J vs. K provides kids with valuable insight on how stories are made, Alexander said “the first criterion is that we have to laugh. At the end of the day, we wanted to create a really fun story that doesn’t talk down to kids.”
And readers of the book don’t need to choose sides. “If you love one, you don’t have to hate the other,” Craft said, citing classic rivalries like LeBron vs. Jordan and Drake vs. Kendrick. Then again, when the authors announced the book at ALA last summer, Craft couldn’t help but prank Alexander by giving those in line for his book signing cards that said “Team J.” Sharp-eyed readers might notice that another middle grade author who likes to write and draw is the subject of a playful parody in the book. It’s all in good fun.
When the book releases next spring, the authors will embark on a three-week bus tour. Readers who receive a school visit or attend a bookstore appearance can expect to see the creative fireworks and take-downs from the book, along with artistic encouragement.
Is there more in store for J and K? “There will be other stuff,” Craft said. “There’s always room for more.”
