Minecraft

How to Craft a Book in Minecraft

To craft a book in Minecraft you need three paper and one leather. On the Crafting Table those four pieces can sit in any squares — shapeless. Below are the items, the recipe, and the paper craft if you still need sheets.

Crafting Table
Book

Shapeless: the slots can sit anywhere on the grid.

Materials
Item Qty Where to get it
Paper 3 Craft on a Crafting Table. Plant sugar cane on dirt next to water and break the top segments. This ingredient is crafted too — station below.
Leather 1 Kill cows in plains and the rest of the Overworld, or trade with a leatherworker. Hoglins in the Nether also drop leather.

Book specs

Difficulty
Early game
Where it lives
Crafted. Also stronghold libraries, shipwreck map chests, and some village house chests.
Where to get it
Craft on a Crafting Table. Break a bookshelf without Silk Touch to drop three books.
Item ID
minecraft:book
Numerical ID
340
English name
Book
Names
EN Book PT Livro ES Libro
Stackable
Yes
Max stack
64
Renewable
Yes
Material
Item
Diggable
No
Give command
/give @p minecraft:book 1

Ingredient specs

Paper

Difficulty
Early game
Where it lives
Crafted from sugar cane that grows beside water in the Overworld.
Where to get it
Craft on a Crafting Table. Plant sugar cane on dirt next to water and break the top segments.
Item ID
minecraft:paper
Numerical ID
339
English name
Paper
Names
EN Paper PT Papel ES Papel
Stackable
Yes
Max stack
64
Renewable
Yes
Material
Item
Diggable
No
Give command
/give @p minecraft:paper 1

Leather

Difficulty
Early game
Where it lives
Overworld herds. Nether hoglins. Some village chests.
Where to get it
Kill cows in plains and the rest of the Overworld, or trade with a leatherworker. Hoglins in the Nether also drop leather.
Item ID
minecraft:leather
Numerical ID
334
English name
Leather
Names
EN Leather PT Couro ES Cuero
Stackable
Yes
Max stack
64
Renewable
Yes
Material
Item
Diggable
No
Give command
/give @p minecraft:leather 1

Sugar Cane

Difficulty
Early game
Where it lives
Overworld riverbanks, beaches, swamps, and desert water edges.
Where to get it
Break the top segments and leave the bottom on dirt, sand, or grass beside water. It grows back.
Item ID
minecraft:sugar_cane
Legacy item ID
minecraft:reeds
Numerical ID
338
English name
Sugar Cane
Names
EN Sugar Cane PT Cana-de-açúcar ES Caña de azúcar
Stackable
Yes
Max stack
64
Renewable
Yes
Hardness
0
Blast resistance
0
Material
Plant
Diggable
Yes
Give command
/give @p minecraft:sugar_cane 1

How to craft these materials

Paper

Crafting Table
Sugar Cane
Sugar Cane
Sugar Cane

Paper and leather

Paper is three sugar cane in a row on the same table; that craft dumps three sheets, so one run covers a book. Leather comes off cows in the Overworld, or horses, llamas, and hoglins. Drop the three paper and the leather anywhere on the 3×3. The book appears on the right.

If you still need paper

Sugar cane grows on dirt, sand, or grass beside water. Break the top segments, leave the bottom, and it grows back. Craft the paper row first if you still need sheets; the paper recipe draws that line.

What you do with the book

Combine it with a feather and an ink sac for a book and quill, surround it with planks for a bookshelf, or drop it on an Enchanting Table later. Breaking a bookshelf without Silk Touch also refunds three books, which is useful if you overbuilt the library.

Related crafts