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Aug 16, 2010

karen rated it:

*

yeah, i said it, what??

this is a wonderful book, perfect for those of us who are confounded by the rise of the e-readers. did no one ever see maximum overdrive??

seriously, a book will never turn on you the way a machine will.

tom fuller read this book aloud to me the other day at work. he and i are on the same page as far as technology, and it was nice to have storytime again, and even nicer to have the theme of storytime be th More...

83 comments like (64 people liked it)

Mar 09, 2011

Amanda rated it:

Dear Amazon Kindle,

Do you know what else is portable? Do you know what else allows me to read anywhere at any given time? Do you know what else I can read on a beach or in any light? Do you know what else has crisp black and white contrast for easy reading? Do you know what else I can fit in my purse? Do you? Do you?

A book.

I'm not a technology curmudgeon (although my use of the word "curmudgeon" alone probably indicates that I'm well on m More...

18 comments like (20 people liked it)

Nov 29, 2010

Elizabeth rated it:

Where to begin? Begin at the beguine, I suppose. I’ve had It’s a Book sitting on my shelf for months and now the time is ripe. As you may have heard one place or another, it contains an off-color word at the end (“jackass”, belated spoiler alert) and it makes fun of folks who prefer online zips and whizbangs to good old-fashioned paper books. So what are we to make of it? Well, I hate to lob this designation on any author or illustrator I like, but this is so clearly a picture book for grow More...

16 comments like (21 people liked it)

Nov 19, 2010

Anina rated it:

This is for librarians who hate computers, not for kids. Sure I hate facebook and I like swearing jokes, but I am not sure I like swearing jokes in the library where the parents are, this thing is doing nothing but sitting on the shelf making me paranoid ever since it came.

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Dec 15, 2011

Terri rated it:

Smith's newest is witty and sly, with a double entendre at the end that may cause some librarians to omit it from their collections. I, however, love this book. I have shared it with my middle schoolers, and they love it. I usually introduce it with a reminder that word meanings sometimes change over time (an idea we cover in several different units each year), ask for some examples from students, and immediately read the title page where the animals are named: "It's a mouse. It's a jackass More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 25, 2011

Kate rated it:

I received this book as a first-reads giveaway, and I was very excited to read it. Now that I have, I don't agree with the other reviews I have read about it. (Probably because I do not have a fear of books being replaced by technology.)

It's a cute book, and I enjoy Lane Smith's illustrations, but I cannot imagine reading this to a group of children. I feel like it's really a picture book for adults. I think the humor of the contrast between books and technology would be lost o More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 15, 2011

Danielle rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like

Feb 11, 2012

Laura Ashlee rated it:

Review posted 2/11/2012 at Owl Tell You About It.

This is such a cute, funny book. I was so excited about it while I was reading. Sometimes, I think I could still be five years old. I was ecstatically telling my parents about the funny parts of this, and they were looking at me like I had grown two heads. I’m sure they were wondering why their 24-year-old was reading a kids book. I just like knowing what’s good. I love being able to recommend the right book. And I love looking for the More...

0 comments like

Oct 21, 2011

Michael rated it:

It’s A Book

Citation
Smith, L. It’s a Book. 2010. N.P. Roaring Brook Press.

Genre
Modern Fantasy

Type of Book
Picture Book

Approximate Developmental/Grade Level
Grades K-2</b>

Synopsis
It’s a Book is a short story that humorously pokes fun at the tragic outcome of the technological era that our society has become accustomed to. Smith conveys his message with three characters: monkey, jackass, and mouse. More...

0 comments like

Aug 25, 2011

Pamela rated it:

Today we are in inundated with technology. A digital divide is happening between children and adults. The world is changing and so is the way we read and access information. Lane Smith writes and illustrates a book about the pleasures of reading a printed book in It's A Book (Roaring Book Press 2010). The rich shade of red used in the chairs make the gorilla and donkey stand out on the page with soft, muted colors used for the background. The donkey just doesn’t understand his friend’s book More...

0 comments like

Jul 07, 2011

Gregory rated it:

When I was growing up, there were years when books did not fall into my lap unless they were required reading. A book could not compete with TV, radio, soccer, hockey or the swimming pool. As much as we think things have changed, they are the same. There is a new generation of boys (and girls) who may look at a book as an alien device, something from a remote planet or, in today's context, from an ancient civilization.

Lane Smith's new picture book, It's a Book, is about exactly what More...

0 comments like

Jan 30, 2011

David rated it:

It's a Book by Lane Smith is somewhat controversial because of his use of the word "jackass" in a picture book format book about the digital divide and a tech-savy animal that doesn't understand what a book is. The story is very funny to adults, (I laughed on the first reading and personally like the message) including the double meaning of the word jackass as in dumb**s.

Numerous people find the term, as used, to be either off color or mean spirited and simply name calling More...

0 comments like

Jan 26, 2011

Eva rated it:

Okay, okay, I have to stop laughing. Holy cow. These are readers leaving these reviews on here! Upset about the word "jackass". (Okay, I'm fighting the urge here to piss people off even more so please, know that I may not be able to keep fighting it and read at your own risk.)
Okay, guys and gals. IT'S A WORD. Much like all the other words out there in our wonderful, word filled world.
Funny little story here - there's a woman on facebook that hates me because of my "f More...

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

Oct 09, 2010

Jennifer rated it:

"It's a Book!" by Lane Smith
"Its a Book!" - whilst I am definitely in favour of innovation and new technology, there is nothing like a book! This little gem beautifully and humorously puts books and new tech in perspective! Highly recommended! :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhUNyzYzB...

Monkey is absorbed, reading a book. Jackass is busy, playing on his laptop. Jackass gets curious. What is it about this very static, boring looking assemblage of More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 23, 2010

Amanda rated it:

I had read a lot of reviews of this book before I had it held and sent to my library. Ours are all checked out and there’s a holds list for it here. This is an interesting book because it lives in the J Picture book section but it’s definitely a book written for older kids and adults. It’s not a book I would take to story time and expect any preschooler to enjoy or understand. their parents, however; would love it. It’s cute and quick and to the point. Donkey has a computer and he loves it and i More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 03, 2010

Meg rated it:

This is a great little book.

A laptop-bearing jackass (or donkey, if it suits your sensibilities better, but I'm using the book's terminology) and a book-bearing monkey engage in a dialogue about what, exactly, is a book. Throughout, it's very neat that the jackass' dialogue is in a tech-font and that the monkey's dialogue is in a traditional typeface. The jackass wants to know if it can scroll down, if the characters can fight, where the mouse is (there is a little mouse, the furry More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 23, 2010

Jessica at Book Sake rated it:

A package arrived yesterday and I opened it with my daughter. She asked what it was and I told her “It’s a Book.” She asked what book and I told her again, “It’s a Book, that’s the title.” So you can imagine how that conversation continued. So like any kid with a present, I immediately tore into the package and read it cover to cover. It’s a quick read as it’s a children’s book but there is some good adult humor mixed in as well.

The book has three main characters: a mouse, a monkey More...

0 comments like

Mar 02, 2011

Kirsten rated it:

While I have more of a desire to share this book with my bibliophile friends and co-workers than with children, I disagree that it is primarily aimed at adults.

So many kids in first world countries are increasingly being raised and educated by computers and other electronic devices, and that genuinely changes the way that they acquire information from the linear narrative provided in books, to a more rapid and less coherent way encouraged by links, scrolling and visual media. I can e More...

0 comments like

Oct 23, 2010

The Library Lady rated it:

I have no personal problem with the word "jackass", but why here? Is it for shock value for the "clean book" crowd?

No matter his reasons, in doing so Lane Smith has doomed this book. But that's not necessarily a bad thing, because the whole concept here is aimed far more at tweens than tiny tots anyway. Unfortunately most tweens don't head for the picture book section because they are too busy reading ~~crap so bad it shouldn't be called a book~~ stuff like "Twilig More...

3 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 28, 2010

Cheryl rated it:

Monkey was reading a book, when Jackass (donkey) asked him what he had in his hands. Monkey told him it was a book. Donkey was quite puzzled. Donkey proceeded to ask Monkey questions like…does it scroll down? do you blog with it? can it text? Tweet? Etc. Monkey at this point was irritated with Donkey. Monkey put the book in Donkey’s hands and showed him it was a book. Donkey finally understood what a book was.

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, its superman…No, It’s a Book! It’s a Book is a w More...

0 comments like

Aug 24, 2010

Nely rated it:

It's a Book is quite a treat for those of us who fondly remember a time before e-readers, computers, iPods and WiFi.

For some reason, I found this picture book so funny. I could not help but feel for the poor monkey who is just reading a book when his tech-savvy friend donkey asks him what it is. Donkey quizzes him on what the sole purpose of the book is and monkey patiently answers all his questions. A unique and quite funny conversation takes place.

I'm not 100% sure what More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 05, 2012

Corbin rated it:

Smith conveys strong, sarcastic characters with a couple dozen words and brilliantly sparce artwork. Strong voice is clearly distilled by such.

Sarcasm, however, is an affliction that requires few words to convey. I sense Smith is trying too hard to appeal to wanna-be-hip parents who are okay with their 5-year old swearing if it is directed at ignorance. And the kicker? Simple-minded double entendre. Jackass? Really? Come on, Lane.

Ok, one could delve into and deba More...

0 comments like

Apr 06, 2011

Alexa rated it:

I loved this book! It brings in about how far we have fallen from just reading books in a funny way for children to understand. Our society is so engulfed in technology that we are slowly forgetting the simplicity of reading. The "donkey" is baffled at the way a book requires no more than reading; no password, no scrolling up and down, and no charging up the book. For children it is important to see how simple a book can be. The book gives so much personality to the characters with the More...

0 comments like

Aug 26, 2010

Lisa (A Life Bound By Books) rated it:

For more info and reviews please visit my Book Review Blog here - A Life Bound By Books

It’s a Book By Lane Smith is the perfect coffee table book for readers of all ages. Being that were in the digital age and now with the semi-recent introduction to eReaders, this light hearted story shows just how easily we can often find ourselves throughout each day lost behind a computer, eReader, or various other electronics.

The three characters are a Monkey, Donkey and a Mouse. The More...

0 comments like

Aug 20, 2010

Emma rated it:

Is it wrong that I liked the book trailer for It's a Book (2010) by Lane Smith more than I enjoyed the actual book? If it is, I don't want to be right.

What happens when a monkey* sits down with his copy of Treasure Island and a donkey** sits down with his laptop? Well, let's just say the book might not do as much, but it sure has a lot of staying power.

It's a Book has a great message. In snappy text and fun illustrations, it shows all the fun a book can be. And yet . . . More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Nov 11, 2010

Diane rated it:

It's a Book, by Lane Smith, is a cute spoof on today's technology. The story features a monkey, reading a book, while his techie friends, a mouse and a jackass, watch him puzzled - unfamiliar with what a print book is. The monkey starts getting frustrated by all the questions: "How do you scroll down"; "Can you text, tweet or wi-fi"; "How do you charge it up" etc, so the monkey hands over the book to the jackass, and the jackass starts shortening the story, Lo More...

0 comments like

Jan 09, 2012

Olivia rated it:

This children's book was a cute and funny book. This book allowed me to laugh and see the bigger picture the author was portraying. I also noticed that all ages could relate to this book, because technology is so relevent and it is changing quite quickly. It is taking away the traditional role of books. We can see the change in our learning styles, how schools are now operating, we can buy our textbooks online and we can take classes online, etc. This book demonstrates the jackass on his laptop More...

0 comments like

Nov 26, 2011

Pussadee rated it:

It's a book by Lane Smith,is an amazing book! It presented an ideas of the fast- changing society from the printed era to digital one. According the changes, it impacts on reading behavior, which can be seen from the cartoon's characters. It is also represented the generation gap between the digital native vs digital immigrant. Generally, it described the value of book comparing with new technological device. Finally, it described as reading a book is awesome!

For me, I think that th More...

0 comments like

Feb 25, 2011

Cory rated it:

A lot of people on this site have presented the theory that this is really a picture book for adults, and I think there's some truth in that. However, my 4 year old daughter absolutely loves it. We checked it out from the library, and I had to read it to her five times the first day! She loved it so much, I immediately ordered it from Amazon, and we read it again, as soon as it arrived.

Frankly, I think it's a typical of American prudishness that so many people are so shocked by More...

0 comments like

Feb 11, 2011

Jennifer rated it:

OK, so, I love Lane Smith. I also love thinking about Marshall McLuhan (the medium is the message). and this book has both, so it stands to reason I should love this book. Except, unfortunately, I didn't. I'm not really sure why Lane went so far...yeah, saying jack ass in a picture book is ballsy, but, really, is it that funny? I'd argue "no". Was it really necessary to go down that road? Some reviewers have said it was a boisterous read in storytime...but I just don't see it fl More...

1 comment like