From School Library Journal Gr 6 Up—The author transcribes Book's autobiography from the beginning of communication via the clay tablet and the invention of the alphabet to printing presses and the modern ebook. This is a quick read with many pages of black-and-white illustrations that provide visual interest. Book offers anecdotal glimpses into his/her history (book burning, libraries, the difference between papyrus and parchment, how books smell). Though intriguing, this is a bizarre tale. As a character, Book is sarcastic and a bit eccentric with a wandering mind, occasionally making for a disjointed story line. Due to the first person account of an inanimate object, this story will be a fun read but nothing more. VERDICT Librarians do love books about books but this might fit best into libraries with large budgets that can splurge on the silly.—Lisa Nabel, Dayton Metro Library, OH Read more Review Consider this a love letter to the physical object of the book, chronicled through time with humorous lyricism by Agard, a Guyanese British poet and author...Teachers, librarians, and young readers with an interest in the format of books over time will especially appreciate Book’s open account of bearing witness to change.—BooklistBook covers a lot of territory accurately and with verve...A pleasing visit.—Kirkus ReviewsIntriguing and a fun read.—School Library JournalAgard's history of books is better regarded as a long, freeform meditation, or perhaps even a prose poem...Packer's witty, elegant illustrations make one wish for larger pages...—Publishers Weekly[Agard] conjures a vivid, intriguingly detailed picture of the way the book and its social and economic meaning have transformed over the millennia...This will have an easy place in library lessons, and it will also engage the youngsters who want nonfiction to read like a story.—Bulletin of the Center for Children's BooksAptly chosen quotations and poetry enrich the text. The volume itself is an object of interest and pleasure, with clear and varied type, plenty of white space, and an attractive cover design.—VOYA Read more About the Author John Agard is a poet, playwright, and children’s writer. Born in Guyana, where his love of language grew out of listening to sports commentaries on the radio, he now lives in East Sussex, England, with his partner, the poet Grace Nichols, and their daughter.Neil Packer is the illustrator of several classic books, including One Hundred Years of Solitude, as well as Gillian Cross’s magnificent retellings of The Odyssey and The Iliad. Neil Packer lives in London with his son. Read more
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