How to Write a Poem

Ages 4 to 8, Grades P to 3

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. 

Beginwith a questionlike an acornwaiting 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 Author

Author bioKwame Alexander is a poet, educator, publisher, and New York Times Bestselling author of many books, including Swing; Becoming Muhammad Ali, co-authored with James Patterson; Rebound, which was shortlisted for prestigious UK Carnegie Medal; the Caldecott Medal and Newbery Honor-winning picture book, The Undefeated, illustrated by Kadir Nelson; and his Newbery medal-winning middle grade novel, The Crossover. A regular contributor to NPR's Morning Edition, Kwame is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, the Coretta Scott King Author Honor, three NAACP Image Award Nominations, and the 2017 Inaugural Pat Conroy Legacy Award.Illustrator bioMelissa Sweet has illustrated more than one hundred books, including Kwame’s How to Read a Book, 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.