It’s a Book

It's a Book by Lane Smith is an adorable tongue in cheek reflection on a potentially endangered species: books. In a world that is so focused on technology (one where the art of the written letter is all but totally lost), one has to wonder about the fate of the printed book. In Smith's picture book we meet a mouse, a monkey and a jackass (and this is what will give some parents pause, the use of the word jackass as opposed to donkey.) Slapstick humor ensues in an armchair face-off when one character, reared on a diet of 21^st Century technology simply has no idea what to do with a book. He wants to know "how you scroll down, can he blog with it, can he make the characters fight?" Finally, in exasperation monkey hands the book over. The immediate response is "too many letters" and changes it to text speak. Still he is intrigued by this strange thing called a book. The reader watches as he becomes fascinated with it for hours. As with any good picture book, the illustrations are key to getting the full story and they pull the reader deeper into this story. The book ends with a somewhat off color response to the suggestion that the book will be "charged up" before returned to the owner. The use of the label jackass rather than donkey may cause some parents to shy away from purchasing this clever book for their children. That would be a real shame as the book is a great advocate for reading.



It's a Book - book trailer