First, get comfy. Then, peel back the skin, “like you would a clementine / the color of sunrise.” The metaphor of eating that juicy piece of fruit runs through a poem that speaks to the joy of books as places of refuge and discovery, where every word should be savored. The poem is hand-lettered on pages that encourage readers to slow down to experience the goodness: “Don’t rush through: / Your eyes need / time to taste. / Your soul needs / room to bloom.” In addition to the bounty of words, there is plenty to look at, too, in buoyant mixed-media illustrations that incorporate the words on each page into the design, and that also include snippets of text and covers from old books. Several pages feature inserts, or fold-outs, further underscoring the idea that reading is an act that invites active participation. (Ages 7–11)

With half a million copies in print, How to Read a Book is the best and most successful guide to reading comprehension for the general reader, completely rewritten and updated with new material.

A CNN Book of the Week: “Explains not just why we should read books, but how we should read them. It's masterfully done.” –Farheed Zakaria

Originally published in 1940, this book is a rare phenomenon, a living classic that introduces and elucidates the various levels of reading and how to achieve them—from elementary reading, through systematic skimming and inspectional reading, to speed reading. Readers will learn when and how to “judge a book by its cover,” and also how to X-ray it, read critically, and extract the author’s message from the text.

Also included is instruction in the different techniques that work best for reading particular genres, such as practical books, imaginative literature, plays, poetry, history, science and mathematics, philosophy and social science works.

Finally, the authors offer a recommended reading list and supply reading tests you can use measure your own progress in reading skills, comprehension, and speed.