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Overview
Playful and lighthearted with a subversive twist that is signature Lane Smith, IT’S A BOOK is a delightful manifesto on behalf of print in the digital age. This satisfying, perfectly executed picture book has something to say to readers of all stripes and all ages.
Synopsis
Playful and lighthearted with a subversive twist that is signature Lane Smith, IT’S A BOOK is a delightful manifesto on behalf of print in the digital age. This satisfying, perfectly executed picture book has something to say to readers of all stripes and all ages.
The New York Times - Adam Gopnik
Those of us for whom books are a faith in themselves…will love this book. Though it will surely draw a laugh from kids, it will give even more pleasure to parents who have been trying to make loudly the point that Smith's book makes softly: that the virtues of a book are independent of any bells, whistles or animation it might be made to contain…The moral of Smith's book is the right one: not that screens are bad and books are good, but that what books do depends on the totality of what they are—their turning pages, their sturdy self- sufficiency, above all the way they invite a child to withdraw from this world into a world alongside ours in an activity at once mentally strenuous and physically still.
Editorials
Publishers Weekly
Smith (Madam President) addresses e-literacy in his irreverent style, casting a donkey in the role of digital junkie and a gorilla as a literary type. The donkey fiddles with a laptop while the gorilla holds a novel. "What do you have there?" asks the techie, whose words are printed in ice blue, sans serif letters suggestive of a chat room. "It's a book," the ape answers, in a stately orange serif font. The donkey tests the gorilla's patience: "Can it text? Tweet? Wi-Fi?" (When he asks, "Where's your mouse?" a real one pops from beneath the gorilla's porkpie hat.) After the gorilla hands over Treasure Island, the donkey gripes, "Too many letters," and converts the scene to emoticons before getting hooked on the story. "I'll charge it up when I'm done!" he promises, at which the mouse squeaks, "It's a book, jackass." This smart-aleck retort, arguably justified because the donkey is a jackass in any sense of the word, urges readers to side with the scholarly gorilla. Meanwhile, Smith has the best of both worlds: his stylish drawings, sleek typography, and kid-friendly humor combine old media and new. Ages 6-up. (Sept.)Booklist
Smith throws down his gauntlet in the ongoing debate over digital versus print.The New Yorker
I do love this book.The Wall Street Journal
Stylishly designed.USA Today's "Pop Candy" blog
This tongue-in-cheek picture book about reading in the digital age features the best last line ever written in the history of children's literature. Savor it in print rather than trying to read it on your Nook, Kindle or iPad —the punchline will be much better that way.Children's Literature -
A small, neatly suited jackass, introduced on the title page, confronts a large, seated monkey, asking what he is holding. "It's a book," is the reply. Looking at his laptop the donkey explores this answer with a series of technological questions such as, "How do you scroll down?" and "Do you blog with it?" The monkey repeats the same simple answer. When asked where his mouse is, a lively mouse appears from under his hat. The questions about lighting, tweeting, and other computer-related actions all get the same answer from the monkey. When the monkey shows the jackass a page of the book, from Treasure Island, his reply at first is "too many letters," with some editing. It is only when the donkey begins to read the book that he is captivated. Then the monkey is off to the library for another book, with a parting shot from the mouse. The characters are created simply, in black outline, with solid color bodies and clothing. No context is needed beyond a couple of chairs and a wall clock. The wordless sequence of the donkey reading across the double page as the time passes on the clock above his head is particularly effective. The lesson of the value of an old fashioned book in this digital age comes through the humor. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia MarantzSchool Library Journal
Gr 3–5—Smith jump-starts the action on the title page where readers meet the characters—a mouse, a jackass, and a monkey. The monkey's oval head creates an "o" in the word "book." Slapstick humor ensues in an armchair face-off when one character, reared on a diet of Web 2.0 and gaming, cannot fathom what to do with a book and slings a barrage of annoying questions, "Can you blog with it? How do you scroll down? Can you make the characters fight?" Readers know who is speaking by each animal's unique font type and color, achieving economy and elegance on each page. Exasperated, Monkey hands over the volume. Life, death, and madness, all in a single illustrated page of Treasure Island, draw Jackass in. He responds with a knee-jerk reaction ("too many letters") and hilariously reduces it to text speak, but his interest is piqued. He covets the book and readers watch him pore over it for hours. Repeated images of him transfixed, shifting left to right, up and down, ears upright, then splayed, and eyes wide open, fill a wordless spread and offer a priceless visual testimony to the focused interaction between readers' imaginations and a narrative. Mouse delivers the final punch line, which will lead to a fit of naughty but well-deserved laughter, and shouts of "Encore." A clever choice for readers, young and old, who love a good joke and admire the picture book's ability to embody in 32 stills the action of the cinema.—Sara Lissa Paulson, American Sign Language and English Lower School PS 347, New York CityAdam Gopnik
Those of us for whom books are a faith in themselves…will love this book. Though it will surely draw a laugh from kids, it will give even more pleasure to parents who have been trying to make loudly the point that Smith's book makes softly: that the virtues of a book are independent of any bells, whistles or animation it might be made to contain…The moral of Smith's book is the right one: not that screens are bad and books are good, but that what books do depends on the totality of what they are—their turning pages, their sturdy self-sufficiency, above all the way they invite a child to withdraw from this world into a world alongside ours in an activity at once mentally strenuous and physically still.—The New York Times