How to sing a song

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. Sylvia VardellNovember/December 2024 p.61 (c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

This jazzy primer guides readers in noticing surrounding sounds--and feeling the ones that bubble up from within. For their third collaboration--followingHow To Read a Book (2019) andHow To Write a Poem (2023)--Alexander and Sweet are joined by composer, performer, and author Preston (Piscataway). Here, they focus on creating music. The narrative poem begins by calling for an attentive spirit: "Hush. / Now, / turn up your ears / and listen / to the / concert / happening / all around / you." The delicious language refers to a bird's "playful trill" and the "warble of / belching / frogs." Alliteration, rhyme, rhythm, and humor flow through the directives on deep breathing and transforming responses to nature into toe tapping and finger snapping. Ultimately, readers--and the chorus of diverse characters depicted--are instructed to "wail / out each / wondrous / word." These gifted creators bring to life a potentially abstract concept in ways that will appeal to children who instinctively dance, leap, and spin to song. Sweet's note on choosing "op" (optical) art to convey sound is fascinating. Her hypnotic optical illusions weave through and around people in motion, buzzing bees, lively landscapes, and snippets of sheet music--all in glorious collages, punctuated with her signature pink accents. Hand lettering throughout employs different colors, sizes, and saturation to convey volume and pacing. A joyful ode to the manifold pleasures of musical expression. (author's note from Preston)(Picture book. 4-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.