Wednesday 15 May 2013

Picture Book - It's A Book - Lane Smith (Author & Illustrator)

Picture Book - It's A Book - Lane Smith (Author & Illustrator)

Recommended for Toddlers/Younger Readers 




Occasionally, a children's picture book comes along that has theme that must have been written with adults in mind. I Want My Hat Back (Jon Klassen) has wonderfully subtle pictures with dark overtones. The Hueys in The New Jumper (Oliver Jeffers) features one person doing something different, only for everyone to do it so they can also be different. And now, It's A Book joins the ranks of the elite.

It's such a simple idea, but phenomenally well done. It's funny, and will ring true to anyone who has stopped to consider that children will grow up in a world where e-books are the norm. Some people panic over this, some embrace it (me - the important thing is that they're reading), but this story is a gem for anyone who doesn't want to see us lose the printed word.

It's simple plot is thus - a monkey is happily reading, when a jackass appears and asks him a series of questions about it, along the lines of 'Can it text? Tweet? Wi-fi?' etc. By the end of the story, the jackass is completely entranced, despite it's lack of technology.

Words along cannot do justice to just how funny I found this, as did all my library colleagues (e-books vs printed books is a hot topic at the moment, as you can well imagine). I don't think I've ever seen anything as clever put down in print for children. The pictures are fun, adding to the humour as the monkey gets more and more exasperated.

It's perfect for helping to explain to your children why a book can be as much fun as a techno-gadget. No excuses, this is a must read!

10/10

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