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How to Write a Poem

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In this companion to the picture book How to Read a BookKwame 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. The book encourages readers to listen, feel, and discover the words that dance in the world around them—poems just waiting to be written down.    

32 pages, Hardcover

Published April 4, 2023

8 people are currently reading
422 people want to read

About the author

Kwame Alexander

82 books3,150 followers
Kwame Alexander is a poet, educator, and New York Times Bestselling author of 21 books, including The Crossover, which received the 2015 John Newbery Medal for the Most Distinguished Contribution to American literature for Children, the Coretta Scott King Author Award Honor, The NCTE Charlotte Huck Honor, the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, and the Passaic Poetry Prize. Kwame writes for children of all ages. His other works include Surf's Up, a picture book; Booked, a middle grade novel; and He Said She Said, a YA novel.

Kwame believes that poetry can change the world, and he uses it to inspire and empower young people through his PAGE TO STAGE Writing and Publishing Program released by Scholastic. A regular speaker at colleges and conferences in the U.S., he also travels the world planting seeds of literary love (Singapore, Brazil, Italy, France, Shanghai, etc.). Recently, Alexander led a delegation of 20 writers and activists to Ghana, where they delivered books, built a library, and provided literacy professional development to 300 teachers, as a part of LEAP for Ghana, an International literacy program he co-founded.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 154 reviews
Profile Image for DaNae.
2,114 reviews108 followers
April 29, 2023
I’ve been struggling how to capture the idea of poetry for my youngest student who have never heard of poetry before. The idea that it is fun with word, as this book points out might give me a starting point.
Profile Image for Stephanie Affinito.
Author 2 books118 followers
September 15, 2023
This book invites readers to consider what poetry is, what it could be and how they might write it themselves, too. Alexander and Nikaido, both accomplished poets, have created an immersive experience for readers. Lines of poetry splash across each page in varying fonts and sizes giving the book a lyrical feel to it. Readers learn how to begin with a question, use their senses to observe life around them and feel into their emotions and imaginations. Sweet's collage-like illustrations, themed colors and inviting drawings are enhanced by cutouts of book pages that come alive on the page. The three-dimensional effect invites readers into the experience and their potential as a writer, too. Combined, the artful words and illustrations provide a mesmerizing experience. Poets beginning their journey and those far along it will both enjoy this book. Readers who enjoy Georgia Heard’s poetry and Samantha Cotterill’s illustrations are sure to love this book, too.
Profile Image for Cheryl.
13k reviews483 followers
Read
June 1, 2023
Inspirational. Probably best enjoyed by the target audience directly, or with guidance from a parent of other educator who is already totally into poetry for kids. I would not be able to use this for myself, and it would be an awful lot of work for me to use with a child or classroom. Unrated because I hate to subjectively mark it down when objectively it's probably pretty good.

Includes good notes from two of the creators.
Profile Image for Elizabeth.
2,077 reviews68 followers
December 27, 2023
3.5 stars.

How to Write a Poem is a cute follow up to How to Read a Book. The poem by Kwame Alexander and Deanna Nikaido is cute and actually a helpful start to learning to write poetry, and Melissa Sweet's illustrations are also very cute. I had a similar problem with this as with the previous book, which is that some of the font is difficult to read and identify. Otherwise though, it's a cute, fun, and educational poem book! Recommended.
Profile Image for Holly Walling .
102 reviews
February 26, 2024
A super sweet picture book that explains poetry well to little ones. A little young for my students, but it provides a good way to approach the adventure of a poem. I’m a big fan.
Profile Image for Ms. B.
3,749 reviews76 followers
June 12, 2024
This felt like a classroom book. Readers may find themselves enjoying the illustrations more than the words. Let nature inspire you in your poetry.
Profile Image for AJ.
3 reviews
December 31, 2024
short and not very helpful

While the authors seemed to have put a lot of thought into this, the whole book was one giant poem. It demonstrated the creativity and organization that goes into writing poems, but it doesn’t actually answer the question of “How do I write a poem?” clearly. You have to read between the lines, where I was hoping for them to answer the question in a more direct manner.

Overall, the book was good, but not what I was hoping and it was quite short and unhelpful in terms of what I had read it for.
Profile Image for Deirdre Stokes.
Author 3 books7 followers
September 19, 2025
Excellent book, it was fun to read!

What a fun book to remember. It is about how to write poetry, be free, and have fun with your words—a great book to read and look at the cool illustrations.
Profile Image for Debra Hines.
672 reviews11 followers
October 20, 2023
I would read this book to students before having them write poetry, no matter what their age! Illustrated by the amazing Melissa Sweet and written by one of my favorite children's authors.
Profile Image for Peacegal.
11.7k reviews102 followers
June 28, 2023
Delightful presentation! This book is a work of art and a real joy to look at.
Profile Image for Amy.
3,509 reviews34 followers
October 18, 2022
I read an eGalley version of this book and loved this magical poem that talks about writing your own poems. This is a genre that many people seem to be slightly nervous about but Kwame Alexander will make you want to write and illustrate your own by the time this book ends. The illustrations are magical, colorful, and fun adding another layer of meaning to the poem. Look for this book when it publishes this spring!
599 reviews
May 9, 2023
I didn't get this... Don't get me wrong, I appreciate enigmatic phrases and poetic, figurative language, but this felt like random words and phrases were thrown together. Almost like the words were just pulled out of a hat. It didn't seem at all cohesive. And it wasn't inspiring or beautiful enough to make me forgive it.
Profile Image for Richie Partington.
1,202 reviews134 followers
November 22, 2023
Richie’s Picks: HOW TO WRITE A POEM by Kwame Alexander, Deanna Nikaido, and Melissa Sweet, ill., HarperCollins/Quill Tree, April 2023, 32p., ISBN: 978-0-06-306090-6

“Begin with a question,
Like an acorn waiting for spring.
Close your eyes,
Open the window of your mind, and climb out,
Like a seedling reaching for tomorrow…”

Poetry has always felt to me like a first-cousin to music. I particularly love good single-poem picture books. To me, a good single-poem picture book is the children’s lit equivalent of a great music video. Decades after the fact, I can still play books like SUMMERTIME WALTZ (Nina Payne/Gabi Swiatkowska, 2005) and MOOSES COME WALKING (Arlo Guthrie/Alice M. Brock, 1995) in my head, complete with the lyrics I memorized back then.

“...Next, listen to the grass, the flowers, the trees–
Anything that’s friends with the sun.
Feel their glow,
And when you think you know the answer,
Lean into the endless sky
And dive deep into the silent sea of your imagination
To discover a cotton candy cavalcade of sounds–
Words raining everywhere.
Invite them into your paper boat
And row row row across the wild white expanse…”

HOW TO WRITE A POEM is an entertaining and inspirational single-poem picturebook illustrated by Melissa Sweet in her distinctive collage style. There will be plenty of young people who, like me, will be thoroughly engaged and inspired by the words of the poem itself. It’s one worth memorizing.

And, in collaboration with Melissa Sweet’s illustrations, this beautiful book is a home run. The poem itself is lovely, inviting rereading. Readers will spend quality time poring over the detailed, whimsical illustrations.

HOW TO WRITE A POEM will inspire many young people to take the bait, dive deep into their imaginations, come up with just the right words, and create a word picture that is suitable for framing. Sure, many pre-Ks and kindergarteners will be a bit young for doing much more than creating two-line rhymes. But the richness of the language and the award-quality illustrations make this one worth actively sharing with ages four right up through middle school.

Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.pbworks.com
https://www.facebook.com/richiespicks/
richiepartington@gmail.com
Profile Image for Sabrina MacKerell.
21 reviews
December 4, 2024
How To Write a Poem introduces the process of writing a poem to young readers and writers. This book allows for readers to access their creative and emotional side. The rhythmic verses, engaging storytelling, and colorful illustrations display how fun poetry can be. The book is divided into sections that explain key concepts of poetry, such as the importance of observation, the use of descriptive language, and the freedom to play with sounds and structures. The book begins with a question and ends with the authors inviting the reader to take what they have learned to write their own poem.
The book included an epigraph by Nikki Giovanni, “We are all either wheels or connectors. Whichever we are, we must find truth and balance, which is a bicycle.” This quote strongly influenced the illustrations and each page had lots of circles, spheres, and loops. In the note at the end of the book, the illustrator Melissa Sweet states that she used collage art with vintage and handmade papers, paint, pencils, printed letterforms, and even beach pebbles! The texture and bright colors brought another layer of depth to the story. It helped visualize and conceptualize key poetry concepts, such as rhythm and metaphors.
This book would be great for 1st or 2nd grade. Students would be enthralled with the playful examples and vibrant illustrations. This book helps show that poetry is accessible and invites students to write their own poems. I think that this would make a great addition to the beginning of a poetry unit to inspire students and get them thinking about their own ideas. It also has themes of self-expression and finding your voice.
How to Write a Poem is a 2024 Notable Poetry Books and Verse Novels, Selected by the NCTE Children’s Poetry Award Committee. I found this book through the class Wakelet for the NCTE Awards. I read a hardcover copy of this book from my school library.
Profile Image for Barbara.
15k reviews315 followers
December 22, 2023
You'll definitely want to pair this one with the previous How to Read a Book as well as sharing this one with budding poets and word lovers. The idea of being either wheels or connectors is addressed through the lively, pitch-perfect text and the creative and cleverly-rendered collages fashioned through the use of watercolor, gouache, mixed media, papers (some handmade), and pebbles from a beach. Writers have often pondered the question raised by the book's title: How exactly do you write a poem? And they aren't the only ones who might have felt a bit baffled by trying to do so. Generations of school children have often struggled with reading and writing poetry. This book offers advice such as starting with a question "like an acorn / waiting for spring" (unpaged), and then listening to the world around you, relying on your imagination "to discover a cotton candy cavalcade of sounds-- / words raining everywhere" (unpaged), eventually resulting in words "waiting to slide down your pencil" (unpaged). This fresh, exuberant approach to creating a poem is liberating, appealing, and child-friendly. Along with those marvelous illustrations {My favorite one shows a girl with a blossoming pink paper flower adorning her hair!], every phrase and line in this book rings true, celebrating the wonders of the creative process. Readers will emerge from this experience feeling empowered and thoroughly in love with words and the process of creating something meaningful that just might be life- and world-changing.
7 reviews1 follower
October 3, 2023
How To Write a Poem does just as the title says, creatively explains how to write a poem to its readers. It describes that writing a poem comes from the heart and your passion for a topic, object, story, etc. The writer tells readers to “close their eyes and open the window of your mind”. The book uses many metaphors and similes to describe the process poets go through as they write, inspiring children to do the same. The book ends as the reader writes their poem and shows the world what they found. The illustrations in this book are extremely creative, each page is illustrated in clips. The objects are placed together like a collage and each piece is placed together to create a new image. For example, the flower is made up of pieces of various newspaper articles, construction paper, and patterned paper. Each word and letter in the book is also “cut” out from magazines and newspapers. This is an extremely creative way to illustrate a story and use parts from other books, magazines, and newspapers to make something new. The people in the story are drawn in pencil which connects them to the words and art around them easily, everything on the page blends extremely well together. For all of these reasons, this book should win the Caldecott Medal 2024.
Profile Image for Jane Healy.
524 reviews7 followers
July 29, 2023
Maximizing children's desire to ask questions about the world, poets Alexander and Nikaido write a poem about writing a poem, beginning with a question, "like an acorn waiting for spring." Poets for all ages advise beginning poets to observe, as do these poets: "Close your eyes, open the window of your mind, and climb out, like a seedling reaching for tomorrow." Next comes using your senses, feeling the scene emotionally, and the "dive deep into the silent sea of your imagination." The next section encourages playing with words and allowing them to express emotion, finally putting them down on paper "where the words have been waiting to slide down your pencil...," finishing with a challenge to the reader "Now, show us what you've found." Melissa Sweet's imaginative collage illustrations add to the playfulness, with children rowing a paper boat, riding bikes, hanging on monkey bars, and exploring together. This book inspires and encourages writers, from those just approaching poetry to those with years of experience.
Profile Image for Christie Kaaland.
1,298 reviews11 followers
October 6, 2023
In the end notes of this glorious celebration of imagination, words, and poetry, Kvame shares, "To the question, "What is poetry?" a third grader responded, 'Poetry is an egg with a horse inside it." This demonstrates Alexander's love of words, and his ability to honor children and their imaginings as all his books clearly demonstrate. It is a celebration of poetry and young writers displayed in marvelous illustrations and perfectly worded descriptions.

In single-sentence, double-page spreads the authors do just as the title indicates. Tell young readers how to write a poem. First ask a question. Then close your eyes and open your mind to the immersive experience of using all the senses along with the brain, heart, and cosmic energy (the sun).

In wonderful arrays of colors Melissa Sweet uses her collage format illustrations to celebrate children seeking poetry in all the right places: hanging from the monkey bars, the sea and the sky, and in a circle of classmates. A must have for every elementary library and classroom.
Profile Image for Janelle Bailey.
794 reviews15 followers
Read
November 19, 2023
99: How to Write a Poem by Kwame Alexander and Deanna Nikaido, art by Melissa Sweet

Very similar in many layers and ways to Alexander and Sweet's How to Read a Book, this book is built of beautiful, art-full collages, page by page--arguably by me, each of them worthy of framing or at least looking at over and over again, closely observing how much magic is contained in each. My favorite reads simply, "...at the tip of your heart," but you have to see it to fully understand.

The message is fairly simple, as Alexander explains in his note at the end: "A poem is a small but mighty thing."

And Sweet shares in hers that it was her inspiration to start the book with this beautiful Nikki Giovanni quote: "We are all either wheels or connectors. Whichever we are, we must find truth and balance, which is a bicycle."

Yes, it's a children's book, intended to both simplify and inspire poem-like or poetic ideas. But plenty of adults will enjoy it for all sorts of reasons, including that it is: art.

Enjoy!
Profile Image for Stacey Bradley.
285 reviews2 followers
May 2, 2023
This is a great companion to How to Read a Book. I think this would be a fantastic way to talk about poetry or about setting the stage to do some poetry writing, but I also think it is a good place to start when just talking about writing and the process we go through to develop our thoughts and create pieces that are unique individual and worthy of sharing.

This would be a beautiful read aloud and page illustrations are gorgeous and I know that readers will go back and forth through the page layouts. I loved how it started with the quotation about being the connectors to truth and balance and using that as a metaphor to a bicycle. Even better I liked how that metaphor continued right to the end when the invitation to share their poems is given.

I dare you to pick up this book and not read it out loud!

Profile Image for Michelle.
468 reviews
December 4, 2023
"...to discover a cotton candy cavalcade of sounds-words raining everywhere."
So, not exactly directions on how to write a poem. At least not what I was expecting. Instead, Kwame wants people to look deep within themselves to find words just dying to get out and on paper.
"Let them dance with your joy, speak to your sorrow."
The artwork by Melissa Sweet is a combination of sketches and collages which are just wonderful and pull the reader's eye into every page.
But, I still really wanted Kwame to tell me how to be a poet, and what I got was yet another Kwame work of poetry that simply soothes my soul. His writing is simply a work of art. I read it multiple times and loved it more with each reading. And, I need to look up the meaning of cavalcade...what a great word that I had never heard.
1,796 reviews7 followers
August 24, 2023
I love this book. The words explain easily and distinctly what you can do to allow poetry to come into your mind. How to see and listen to nature all around us. How to combine that feeling with your imagination to put poems together. I've taken classes in poetry and this explains it better than any of those classes. It's simplified to things children can relate to but I think it's more for adults....letting your mind relax and allow these thoughts to enter....you'll be creating poetry. The book itself is a poem about poetry. The illustrations are wonderful....creative and inspiring. I borrowed the book from the library but I have to have it close at hand so I'll buy it. I think referring to it now and again would be helpful in keeping me open to possibilities and wonder.
4,092 reviews28 followers
April 14, 2023
In an Author's Note, Kwame Alexander asks "When did poetry become something intimidating and inaccessible?" In this beautifully illustrated picture book he and Deanna Nikaido invite kids to discover the joy of writing a poem. "Begin by asking a question," they say and then follow with richly imaginative ways to look at the world and play with words. The entire book is filled with metaphors that can spark imagination and inspire young writers to come in and play with poetry too.

Melissa Sweet's collage illustrations extend each idea, playing with the words visually and serving to unite the theme.

Not to be missed!
Profile Image for Carol  V.
606 reviews21 followers
June 22, 2023
How to Write a Poem encourages children to see power in words. It is a great book showing the mechanics and process of writing. This book gives children confidence. Children will begin to see how they can channel their emotions, lift their voices, and change the world. A wonderful think and act “how-to” book. Readers will see how they can begin with a question, use their imaginations, make connections, and then let the words slide down to their pencils. The illustrations used in this book, likewise, encourage readers to use their imaginations, recyclables, and inventive resources to give art to the stories they write. Quite the positive book to use with children!!!

As a librarian or teacher, I would use this book in a classroom lesson (third grade – up). I would read aloud the book to the students, and then have each student close their eyes to think about a question in science or nature of interest to them. I would have each student to take out a sheet of paper and write down their question. Again, I would ask them to close their eyes and visualize the question. Write ten words in the left corner of page about the question and visualization…Use a dictionary, to look up a few of these words to list an additional ten synonyms in the right corner of the page.

Using the question, the list of twenty words and incorporating sensory thoughts, I would ask the students to let the words and thoughts flow to their pencil and write a poem. Afterwards, they could illustrate with magazines, newspapers, scraps, pencil, and crayons.

An additional challenge activity: turn to a reliable source to READ and learn more about their question.

Caldecott Worthy? Absolutely!

[For further reading.... The illustrator of How to Write a Poem is the Caldecott Honor-winning Melissa Sweet. She wrote and illustrated another favorite book of mine, Some Writer!: The Story of E. B. White. If you love Charlotte's Web, this biography would be a great one to read!]
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