DESCRIPTION

In this evocative and playful companion to their New York Times bestselling picture book How to Read a Book, Newbery Medalist Kwame Alexander teams up with poet Deanna Nikaido and Caldecott Honoree Melissa Sweet to celebrate the magic of discovering your very own poetry in the world around you.

Begin

with a question

like an acorn

waiting for spring.

From this first stanza, readers are invited to pay attention--and to see that paying attention itself is poetry. Kwame Alexander and Deanna Nikaido's playful text and Melissa Sweet's dynamic, inventive artwork are paired together to encourage readers to listen, feel, and discover the words that dance in the world around them--poems just waiting to be written down.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS & ILLUSTRATOR

Kwame Alexander is the New York Times Bestselling author of 32 books, including The Undefeated; How to Read a Book; Solo; Swing; Rebound, which was shortlisted for prestigious Carnegie Medal; and his Newbery medal-winning middle grade novel, The Crossover. He's also the founding editor of Versify, an imprint that aims to Change the World One Word at a Time. Visit him at KwameAlexander.com

Deanna Nikaido is the author of two collections of poetry, Voice Like Water (Word of Mouth Press, 2009) and Vibrating With Silence (Writers Lair Books, 2007) and holds a degree in Illustration from Art Center College of Design. She is a senior coach and design consultant for Bookinaday, a non profit hands-on literacy project that teaches students the fundamentals of creative writing, through poetry and book publication and is Maryland’s North and Western Regional Coordinator for the national recitation program, Poetry Out Loud.

Melissa Sweet has illustrated more than one hundred books. Her work has been in magazines, on greeting cards, and on her living room walls. Melissa has received the Caldecott Honor Medal twice, among many other awards, including the Sibert Medal, and is a New York Times bestselling author and artist. Melissa lives in Maine. You can visit her at www.melissasweet.net.

REVIEWS

"An exquisite guide that inspires and encapsulates the essence of poetry." -- Booklist (starred review)

"Both a teaching tool for writing poetry as well as an ode to poetry itself. Highly recommended." -- School Library Journal (starred review)

"Marvelously crafted to inspire blooming writers." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)