Thursday, November 11, 2010

143 - It's a Book; Lane Smith




It's a Book, by Lane Smith, is a cute spoof on today's technology. The story features a monkey, reading a book, while his techie friends, a mouse and a jackass, watch him puzzled - unfamiliar with what a print book is.  The monkey starts getting frustrated by all the questions: "How do you scroll down"; "Can you text, tweet or wi-fi"; "How do you charge it up" etc, so the monkey hands over the book to the jackass, and the jackass starts shortening the story, Long John Silver, into text format. You can take a sneak peek at some of the book by checking out this video.

While, the book is very cute, it seems like it would be a bit over the head of some 4 years old children, and in some ways it reminded me of the Goodnight Bush: A Parody book spin off of Goodnight Moon, that I read a few year's back --very fun, but also over the head of some young children.

Nevertheless, It's a Book is a fun book, period appropriate, and the illustrations are just terrific. Have you read it?
Rating - 4/5 stars - Library Book






14 comments:

  1. I actually had this on order for school and took it off my list....there is no way I could use it with my students. And, if I were a parent reading this to my kids, I would be a little angry at the way it ends. I guess I just can't decide who Smith thinks his audience is. Adults and older kids would get the humor, but younger kids wouldn't get it and it isn't even appropriate in many settings. Sorry....I will get off my soapbox now! :)

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  2. Tina.....I get where you are coming from, and the ending (although his name) is just a bit much for a kids book.

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  3. I was just looking at your 2010 100+ list, and it looks awesome! I might put myself up to the challenge for 2011, and copy so much of your list! I'm ages behind in just about facet of life (because of where I've been living), so one year isn't too shabby at all! :)

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  4. I love Lane Smith but I've heard other people say that this one is definitely for older children.

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  5. You are right, this will be a bit too much for the kids. Though it will be good for the older ones :)

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  6. I actually read this book to my 9th graders as a companion to our study of Fahrenheit 451. They absolutely "got it" and it helped provide lively classroom discussion.

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  7. I LOVED this book and have read through it several times. I laugh and laugh at it, particularly the last page. I think it is just so timely and relevant in today's world of digital media... Wonderful review, I am glad you loved it too!

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  8. The cover illustration is just darling. It sounds like an odd topic for a children's book though. Especially one geared towards pre-school children.

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  9. Sounds like a topic that adults would enjoy!

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  10. Yep, I read it and loved it!! I want to frame some of the pages!!

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  11. I was going to say ... it sounds like it is meant more for adults or older kids!

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  12. That's a cute cover. I think my sister's boyfriend would appreciate it because he does look like a monkey and proud of it. The theme of the book is great for him too.

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