How to Sing a Song
by Kwame Alexander and Randy Preston; illus. by Melissa Sweet
Primary    Quill Tree/HarperCollins    32 pp.
10/24    9780063060937    $19.99

In their third How to… book, Alexander and Sweet (How to Read a Book; How to Write a Poem, rev. 5/23) collaborate with singer-songwriter Preston to guide readers in tuning in to the world of sound around them. The lyrical text in bold hand-drawn block letters filled with color is prominent on each double-page spread. Beginning with the word hush, the authors invite us to begin by being quiet to “turn up your ears /and listen / to the / concert / happening /all around / you.” We’re encouraged to listen to the sounds of nature such as a “blue jay’s / playful trill” and “trees swaying / and shushing.” From there the poetic text focuses inward, first through breathing deeply, then through tapping feet and snapping fingers, ending with “sing / a song / loud / and strong.” The pacing, vivid language, pleasing alliteration, inventive similes, periodic use of rhyme, and syncopated rhythm create a poem full of sound and music. Sweet’s collage art incorporates musical imagery in waves, circles, swirls, and optical art patterns—full of movement and energy to “make sound visible on the page,” as she states in her end note. Preston contributes an end note as well. The overall impact resonates as a call for young people to find their voice and their power through music and beyond.

From the ">November/December 2024 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.