Thursday, February 26, 2015

The Boy and the Book: A Wordless Story by David Slater –NOT RECOMMENDED

Slater, David The Boy and the Book: A Wordless Story 32 pgs, Charlesbridge, 2015. $16.95 PICTURE BOOK
At the public library the books live in fear of a certain little boy who isn’t very nice to books. They try to run, they try to hide, but this little boy catches one and when its apparent he can’t read it, he plays roughly with it instead. The next time he comes in, he is able to catch the book, and now he is able to read a bit, so he treats it nice. The book finds himself happier to spend time with the little boy.
I was very excited to get my hands on a wordless book, I love using these with all ages. But this was sort of upsetting, the books were really scared, and beaten. I don’t think I want to introduce the concept of books being scared of kids to young readers. Additionally, is it ok to treat books bad just because you don't know how to read? When the boy starts to be able to read, then he treats the book right, which is a total oxymoron if you think about it, since the actual book we are reading is wordless, so why couldn’t the little boy in the story enjoy ‘reading’ the illustrations (just as we the readers are) and treat the book right from the start?
EL (K-3) – NO Reviewer: Stephanie Elementary School Librarian & Author.

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