Review: Smith, L. (2011). Its a book.

Smith, L. (2011). Its a book. New York, NY: Roaring Brook Press.

Charming and simultaneously snarky, this picture book pokes fun at the technology-enriched young person’s (comically exaggerated) views on traditional literature.  If your child has ever picked up a retro Etch-a-Sketch, tapped on the screen, and said, “It’s broken…” (as mine has), this book will bring some levity with a good-natured ribbing to your world and theirs.

Initially we are introduced to Mouse, Jackass, and Monkey.  As Monkey attempts to read his book, Treasure Island, he is repeatedly questioned by Jackass, who wants to know what it is and just what exactly it does.  To the numerous questions with which he interrupts--such as, “How do you scroll down?” and “Does it text?--he receives the same response, “...it’s a book.”  Of course “Where’s your mouse?” is met with the surprise appearance of the actual character Mouse. Although he at one point attempts to “fix” the “too many letters” of the book, Jackass ultimately finds himself engrossed in reading, setting Mouse up for a final wisecrack that has left every child I’ve read this to thus far literally LOL.

The illustrations are soft and expressive, conveying meaning with only short dialogue that alternates text color between characters.  From the intensity of Monkey’s annoyance to the engrossed way in which Jackass is portrayed as reading for hours--shown through the passage of time on a clock behind him--the artwork tells as much or more than the text on some pages, adding to the overall banter and wit.

Younger readers can now check out the amusing board book adaptation, featuring the younger, diapered characters, in It’s a Little Book.