He will accept the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award for Children at a virtual celebration on October 22nd at 1pm.

Kwame Alexander frequently appears on NPR to talk about poetry. Reviewer Karla Schmit is the director of the Pennsylvania Center for the Book. These elements will make readers of all ages come back to the book again and again to experience the wonder of “How to Read A Book.” And discovering snippets from “Bambi” is amusing. The colorful, many shaped letters and words are a feast for the eyes. Readers will not only enjoy the words of the poem in this picture book, but they will delight in poring over the art. Sweet felt affirmed in her choice when she came across a poem by Nikki Giovanni that began with these words: “poetry is motion graceful as a fawn…” She says the colors were beautiful and the fawn from the beloved children’s book provided vivid imagery. Sweet writes that she tried many materials before deciding the pages from a worn-out copy of “Bambi” felt like the perfect fit. The colors are vibrant with collages created from discarded books and book covers, paint, and found materials. Just as compelling as the words in the poem is the art that Melissa Sweet uses to capture the experience of reading a book. “Don’t rush though: your eyes need time to taste. Booked by Kwame Alexander 24 terms MelanieKauffman Teacher Booked 30 terms JanetJohnston1 Teacher BoB 'Booked' Study Guide 160 terms Car圜arries Sets found in the same folder Salt to the Sea 91 terms lalaflower Some Kind of Happiness 39 terms AshleyGreenway1 Teacher All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. It’s so good, and I just don’t want it to end.”Īlexander’s poem echoes that sentiment of a book being just so wonderful that you don’t want it to conclude. He had closed his book and put it down during a cherished silent reading time. The ending of the book reminds me of a student in one of my third-grade classrooms back in the 1980s. “So get real cozy between the covers and let your fingers wonder as they wander…Squeeze every morsel of each plump line until the last drop of magic drips from the infinite sky.” One of my favorite lines in the poem illustrates that feeling.

The imagery the words evoke give the reader an emotional response to the joy of reading. The result is a book that paints a picture of the journey readers take each time they open a book. Sweet is a Caldecott Honoree.Īlexander describes the writing of this poem as his way of capturing his family’s reading experiences. Alexander also won a Hopkins Poetry Award and a Newberry Medal for “The Crossover” in 2015. This year’s winner is “How to Read a Book” by Kwame Alexander with art by Melissa Sweet. It’s that time of the year when the Pennsylvania Center for the Book celebrates the winner of its Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award for Children.

Booked kwame alexander