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Beyond the Book families are invited to a special event with Kwame Alexander, the author of this season's new Beyond the Book title, "How to Sing a Song."
Celebrate the joy of reading with rhythm, rhyme, and imagination with award-winning author Kwame Alexander as he brings his signature storytelling style to How to Sing a Song—a lyrical new picture book created with musician Randy Preston and illustrator Melissa Sweet.
Part of DC Public Library’s Beyond the Book initiative, this special session invites early readers into a world of language, sound, and emotion. Children will hear Alexander read aloud, connect with the story’s musical energy, and explore how books can sing, dance, and come alive.
Whether a child is still learning to sound out words or already reading with confidence, How to Sing a Song opens the door to a shared world of expressive language, image, and imagination.
After the program, we invite you to step right into the story in the library’s larger-than-life installation of the illustrations, sign up for the Beyond the Book Club, and get your book signed by the author. A limited number of How to Sing a Song will be available on a first-come, first-served basis courtesy of the DC Public Library Foundation.
Kwame Alexander is an Emmy® Award-winning producer, and #1 New York Times bestselling author of 44 books, including Why Fathers Cry at Night, How Sweet The Sound, The Door of No Return (2025 Audie Award Winner), The Undefeated, the National Book Award nominee, Newbery Honor, and Caldecott Medal-winning picture book illustrated by Kadir Nelson, and The Crossover, his Newbery Medal-winning novel turned Disney+ TV series. His forthcoming books include J vs. K, an illustrated novel he penned with Jerry Craft, and the motivational primer for graduates, creatives and professionals entitled Say Yes. He is also the executive producer Acoustic Rooster and His Barnyard Band and Acoustic Rooster: Jazzy Jams, a PBS KIDS special and serires of shorts produced by GBH Kids based on his beloved children's book of the same name. A recipient of the 2025 NAACP Image Award, Kwame is also founder of AuthorStudy.com and is the Artistic Director of Literary Arts for the Chautauqua (pronounced Shuh-Tah-Kwuh) Institution. He regularly shares his passion for literacy, books and the craft of writing around the world, including Ghana, West Africa, where he opened the Barbara E. Alexander Memorial Library and Health Clinic. His mission is to change the world - one word at a time.
Beyond the Book, generously funded by the DC Public Library Foundation, is a city-wide reading and learning club that engages Books from Birth graduates as well as developing readers across DC around a carefully selected title along with fun and educational learning activities that will deepen their understanding and enjoyment of the book as well as build their reading skills.
AGE GROUP: | Birth - 5 | 5 - 12 Years Old |
EVENT TYPE: | Discover Summer | Beyond the Book | Author Talk |
