Read! Read! Read!

Twenty-three poems capture the joys of reading from that thrilling moment when a child first learns to decipher words to the excitement that follows in reading everything from road signs to field guides to internet articles to stories. These poems also explore what reading does, lyrically celebrating how it opens minds, can make you kind, and allows you to explore the whole world. Ryan O’Rourke’s rich artwork beautifully captures the imagination and playfulness in these poems.

Amy Ludwig VanDerwater is author of Forest Has A Song (Clarion, 2013), Every Day Birds (Scholastic, 2016) and Poems Are Teachers (Heinemann 2017) as well as the forthcoming Dreaming of You (Boyds Mills Press, 2018) and With My Hands (Clarion, 2018). Amy's poems are frequently anthologized, she lives in Holland, NY, and you can find her online blogging for children at www.amyludwigvanderwater.com.

Ryan O’Rourke is the author-illustrator of Bella: Lost And Found (HarperCollins, 2014) and illustrator of Mouseling’s Words by Shutta Crum (Clarion, 2016), Alphabet Trains by Samantha R. Vamos (Charlesbridge, 2017), and more. He teaches illustration at the New Hampshire Institute of Art and lives in Hooksett, New Hampshire. ryanorourke.com