[BOOK REVIEW] It's a Book by Lane Smith

Title:  It's a Book

Author: Lane Smith

Genre: Humor / Reading / Animals

Year Published: 2010

 
Year Read:  2013

Publisher: Roaring Brook Press


Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 6+ (One Use of the Word "Jackass")

“Not a laptop, not a blog, just a book.”

After hearing so many awesome reviews about this book and after reading so many children’s books illustrated by Lane Smith, I just had to check out this book, “It’s a Book” and man, was it one children’s book that I thoroughly enjoyed!

The book starts off with a monkey reading a book when suddenly; a donkey comes by and asks the monkey what he has in his hands. The monkey tells the donkey that he is reading a book. But the donkey mistakes the book for a computer and keeps on asking the monkey throughout this story about whether or not the book can text, tweet, scroll or have wi-fi, while the monkey constantly tells the donkey that the book does not have all that.

Wow! Lane Smith has seriously made me realize just how important books are, especially in the technological age of our society!  I loved the fact that this book was trying to make a statement on how today’s society is so reliant on technology, such as the use of laptops and social networks like Twitter and the fact that the donkey in this story does not know how books really work was so hilarious and charming to look at!  Now, I will admit that I am one of those people who use technology to advance my lifestyle since I also enjoy blogging, tweeting and using wi-fi for my laptop whenever I can.  But, I also enjoy a good book every once in awhile and this book really made me see the importance of enjoying a good book, even if you also love using technology to enhance your lifestyle.  I loved the fact that the monkey was trying to tell the donkey that even though his book does not have all the entertaining advancements in a computer like social networks, the book can still be entertaining as long as there is a good story to be told.  Lane Smith’s artwork is so cute and hilarious to look at, especially of the images of the donkey, the monkey and the mouse themselves!  I loved the way that the donkey is drawn, as he has gray colored fur and wears a blue shirt and black pants which make him look so modern compared to the monkey.  I also loved the fact that the monkey wears a white polka dotted green shirt and a small hat which makes him look laid-back and the fact that his head is so large really makes his design so hilarious to look at!

Even though the use of the word “jackass” is being used as a way to describe a donkey, some parents might be worried that this word would be offensive to read to their children.  Now, personally I did not have a problem with the use of the word “jackass” since I knew that it was being used to describe a donkey and I personally thought that it was not use in an offensive way.  But, with the way the “a” word is being thrown around nowadays, I can understand a parent’s concern about the use of the “a” word in a children’s book. Parents should explain to their children that the “a” word also means “donkey” and that in this case, it is not used as an offensive way to call people names.

Overall, “It’s a Book” is a truly brilliant book that really points out the comparisons between a computer and a book and how they would affect the person using them. I would highly recommend this book to children and parents who love reading books that show the importance of books in society as a whole!  This book would be best suited for children ages six and up since the use of the word “jackass” might be controversial to some readers.