James Patterson teams up with hoops star Dwyane Wade

Here's a look at what's buzzing in the book world today:

All-star reading: Best-selling novelist James Patterson has announced that he'll join basketball all-star Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat on a webcast for kids about the importance of reading on April 24 at 1 p.m. ET at www.JamesPattersonEvents.com. In a statement, Patterson says, "'Dwyane and I are shooting for 100% literacy in our schools." Wade wrote the 2012 book A Father First: How My Life Became Bigger Than Basketball.

'Hans' prize: Six authors and six illustrators have been shortlisted for the Hans Christian Andersen Award, a biannual international award for "lasting contributions to children's literature." The winners will be announced March 24, at the Bologna Children's Book Fair. One American is included: Jacqueline Woodson, who's best known for Miracle's Boys, winner of the Coretta Scott King Award in 2001, and her Newbery Honor books, After Tupac & D Foster, Feathers and Show Way.

Cobain's impact:USA TODAY's Korina Lopez interviews Charles R. Cross, who wrote the definitive Kurt Cobain biography, Heavier Than Heaven, about his new book on the lasting impact of the doomed rock star. Here We Are Now (It Books) is out today, nearly a decade after Cobain's suicide.

Literate cats:ABC News looks at how kids in Bucks County, Pa., are learning to read better by reading to cats.

Recovery Road:Deadline.com reports that cable TV network ABC Family has greenlighted a pilot episode of Recovery Road, based on Blake Nelson's novel about a teen overcoming her addiction to drugs and alcohol.

Charting book sales: The British website LoveReading.com.uk notes, "We often hear that a book has sold '5 million copies' or even '20 million copies,' but what exactly would 20 million books look like of they were stacked end to end?" Check out its chart comparing global sales, topped by Agatha Christine's 2 billion sales.