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.
Shapeless: the slots can sit anywhere on the grid.
| 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 - Stackable
- Yes
- Max stack
- 64
- Renewable
- Yes
- Material
- Item
- Diggable
- No
- Give command
-
/give @p minecraft:book 1 - Used to craft
- Enchanting Table, Bookshelf, Book and Quill
Ingredient specs
Paper
Early game- Where to get it
- Craft on a Crafting Table. Plant sugar cane on dirt next to water and break the top segments.
- Where it lives
- Crafted from sugar cane that grows beside water in the Overworld.
- Item ID
minecraft:paper- Numerical ID
339- Stackable
- Yes
- Max stack
- 64
- Renewable
- Yes
- Material
- Item
- Diggable
- No
Leather
Early game- 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.
- Where it lives
- Overworld herds. Nether hoglins. Some village chests.
- Item ID
minecraft:leather- Numerical ID
334- Stackable
- Yes
- Max stack
- 64
- Renewable
- Yes
- Material
- Item
- Diggable
- No
Sugar Cane
Early game- Where to get it
- Break the top segments and leave the bottom on dirt, sand, or grass beside water. It grows back.
- Where it lives
- Overworld riverbanks, beaches, swamps, and desert water edges.
- Item ID
minecraft:sugar_cane- Legacy item ID
minecraft:reeds- Numerical ID
338- Stackable
- Yes
- Max stack
- 64
- Renewable
- Yes
- Hardness
- 0
- Blast resistance
- 0
- Material
- Plant
- Diggable
- Yes
How to craft these materials
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.
