It's a Book book review by Jude

Title of the Book: It's a Book 

 Author Name: Lane Smith 

 Reviewer's Name: Jude 

Publisher: Roaring Brook Press 

Date of Publication: 2010 

Rating: 1-5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

In the short picture book, “It’s a Book” the author Lane Smith formulates a simple story about an old fellow explaining the concept of a book to a Jackass. The Jackass doesn't understand how a book works, the concept of it and why anyone would ever think to use one. He Asks the monkey simple questions about the book that anyone in this day and age should know. He is confused about the functionality of the book, for example, as the monkey explains that it is unable to call, text tweet, text, wi-fi, and make characters battle. The Jackass just looks even more confused and this makes the monkey roll his eyes back. At the end of the book, Jackass ends up enjoying the simplicity of the book and even going to the library. Many themes are displayed in this story. Just to name a few, the monkey learns the importance of being patient and the Jackass learns about how being open-minded can benefit you in the end. The illustrator used many methods to portray how the characters are feeling. The monkey has unexcited eyes, and barely moves his mouth, showing the reader his unenthusiasm. The jackass is very engaged when comparing his computer to the book. This one tells us how he is so consumed with his computer and trying to show that off to the monkey. After being more of a nuisance, the monkey really starts to get aggravated because he is being questioned, we can see this because of his tense body language. 

This book is a great tool to teach children the simple pleasures of reading. It does it in a manner that is easy to understand, with great visual signals to help the children to understand body language better. The criticism I have is the character being called a Jackass, which can be used as an insult. Children may not understand this concept and use it and that is not what we want.