A stunning new picture book from Newbery Medalist Kwame Alexander and Caldecott Honoree Melissa Sweet! This New York Times bestselling duo has teamed up for the first time to bring you How to Read a Book, a poetic and beautiful journey about the experience of reading.

Find a tree-a

black tupelo or

dawn redwood will do-and

plant yourself.

(It's okay if you prefer a stoop, like Langston Hughes.)

With these words, an adventure begins. Kwame Alexander's evocative poetry and Melissa Sweet's lush artwork come together to take readers on a sensory journey between the pages of a book.

How to Read a Book has received three starred reviews!

About the Author
Kwame Alexander is a poet, educator, and the New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty-five books, including his Newbery Medal-winning middle grade novel, The Crossover. Some of his other works include Booked, which was longlisted for the National Book Award; The Playbook: 52 Rules to Help You Aim, Shoot, and Score in This Game of Life; Swing; the picture books How to Read a Book and How to Write a Poem (coauthored with Deanna Nikaido), both illustrated by Melissa Sweet; and The Undefeated, illustrated by Kadir Nelson, which was longlisted for the National Book Award and won the Caldecott Medal, a Newbery Honor Award, and the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award. He is a regular contributor to NPR's Morning Edition, currently serving as their poet ambassador. He lives in Virginia with his family. Visit his website at kwamealexander.com. Melissa Sweet has illustrated more than one hundred books, including Kwame Alexander's How to Read a Book and How to Write a Poem, and has written and illustrated her own work. Her work has been featured in magazines, on greeting cards, and on living room walls. Melissa has received the Caldecott Honor Medal twice, among many other awards, including the Sibert Award, and is a New York Times bestselling author and artist. Melissa lives in Maine. You can visit her at melissasweet.net.

Reviews
"[An] engaging and mesmerizing ode to reading...delightful and appealing." - ALA Booklist (starred review) "A linguistic and visual feast." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "A beautiful book not to be rushed through, but to be enjoyed morsel by tasty morsel." - School Library Journal (starred review) "[This] love poem to literacy conjures up startling, luscious images...By turns dreamy and ecstatic." - Publishers Weekly "This is a party for a select (but hopefully large) list of like-minded young literati, who know how to 'squeeze every morsel of each plump line until the last drop of magic drips from the infinite sky' and revel in their fandom." - Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books "Readers who will want to head right back to the beginning and soak in this lovingly rendered testimonial more than once...Sweet's distinctive hand-lettered text, which itself becomes another part of the artwork, is a perfect complement to Alexander's prose." - BookPage (starred review)


Awards
Winner of Bulletin Blue Ribbon (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books) (United States).



Book Information
ISBN 9780062307811
Author Kwame Alexander
Format Hardback
Page Count 32
Imprint HarperCollins
Publisher HarperCollins Publishers Inc
Weight(grams) 404g