Jay Leno: If Roast Beef Could Fly

by Jay Leno, S.B. Whitehead (Illustrator)

The Tonight Show's Jay Leno draws on a true story from his childhood to make a generation of young readers laugh out loud. Little Jay's mom is maniacally thrifty, his dad is extravagant, and little Jay always seems to be caught in the middle. So when Jay's dad decides that his next big "project" is going to be an ENORMOUS barbecue patio, the only way it's going to happen is if Jay, their neighbors, and Bruce, the laziest dog in America, help him out. When the party to launch the patio arrives, there's more food than anyone could eat, and at the center is a HUGE roast beef that Jay would do anything to get a taste of. No one will notice if he sneaks a bite, will they? That is, until Jay's secret plan backfires! What is Jay's secret weapon to sample a bit of the roast beef? Will he keep his dad from finding out? And finally, what could make a roast beef fly? The Tonight Show's Jay Leno draws on a true story from his childhood to make a generation of young readers laugh out loud. Little Jay's mom is maniacally thrifty, his dad is extravagant, and little Jay always seems to be caught in the middle. So when Jay's dad decides that his next big "project" is going to be an ENORMOUS barbecue patio, the only way it's going to happen is if Jay, their neighbors, and Bruce, the laziest dog in America, help him out. When the party to launch the patio arrives, there's more food than anyone could eat, and at the center is a HUGE roast beef that Jay would do anything to get a taste of. No one will notice if he sneaks a bite, will they? That is, until Jay's secret plan backfires! What is Jay's secret weapon to sample a bit of the roast beef? Will he keep his dad from finding out? And finally, what could make a roast beef fly?

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno is an Emmy Award-winning American stand-up comedian and television host who succeeded Johnny Carson as host of "The Tonight Show" on May 25, 1992. He hosted the show until May 29, 2009 when, despite his high ratings, he was replaced by Conan O'Brien. The poor ratings which Conan O'Brien received as host of "The Tonight Show" resulted in NBC bringing Leno back as host on March 1, 2010. He continued to host the show to critical and popular acclaim. In 2013, despite still having the highest late night television ratings, NBC decided to replace Leno with Jimmy Fallon as host. Leno's final show aired on February 6, 2014.

Reviews

[Morgan]

Doesn't rhyme. Multiple sentences per page. Has a cute storyline about a dad that is always working on a project, typical dad stuff

[Teresa Biggie]

I got this book for my kids and I am digging it out for the grandkids.

My kids and I loved this book way back when... now I did not think it was as funny and my adult kids were not impressed. I still love the story and I love the illustrations and most of us can identify with the different sides of our families

[Majken Nilsson]

My kids and I read this book together many times with tears running down our cheeks. Anyone with little ones can perfectly envision how the story all played out. Definitely one of our family favorites.

[John]

Jay Leno wrote a funny story about Dad’s projects. It’s a home run, in my opinion! This story even compares two cultures, to a degree, Italians and Scots. My three year old granddaughter found it funny, as did I.

[Kelly]

Maybe a little wordy for a picture book, but I like Jay Leno and this was a good book.

[Lynn Davidson]

This is a funny story from the author's childhood. His father was always coming up with projects to work on, and this story is about the big rotisserie he set out to build. Amusing things happen.

[Matt Mazenauer]

This was an endearing slice-of-life story that had no conclusion. I feel as though Jay was just working through a childhood trauma.

[Rena]

Cute book that is funny with great illustrations. Perfect young kids who can appreciate humor.

[Layne Young-Farmer]

Fun book for kids.

[Nathan Forester]

Jay Leno is known for his really fasincating stories about his parents, especially if you have seen his old Johnny Carson interviews and this book perfectly sums up what his parents were like from both the Scottish and Italian side.

[M.M. Hudson]

My review:
This book is a twist on a remembered Summer that Jay Leno had with his Dad and family. Everything was done largely on one side of his family, while the other side, was much more conservative. Reading about how Jay and his Dad took the entire Summer to build the bbq was funny enough. However, reading how he managed to get a taste, that is laugh out loud.

So, how is it the roast beef flew? Well, that is the twist in the story that you just have to read. I can tell you, though, Jay's taste buds managed to get him in a whole lot of hot water with his Dad and never getting another taste or for that matter, his family either!

The illustrations are done in large cartoonish characters, which from someone like Jay Leno, does not surprise me. The illustrations add to the book which makes it that much more fun.

This book also comes with an audio CD of Jay Leno reading the book. Although I did not listen, I without a doubt, figure it to be funny.

I give this book 4 stars.

Disclosure: I obtained a copy of this book at my local library. The views here are 100% my own and may differ from yours. ~Naila Moon

[Carolyn]

AR 3.6 -- 0.5

Love the illustrations.
Definitely "Kid Jay" humor.

[Heather]

Children, parents, and weekend projects. It's a recipe for adventure and laughs. My family was ROTFLing (Rolling on the floor Laughing!) We think you will be too!

[Wyatt Harris]

Excellent source for hyperbole, onomonopeia, and other literary devices for learning. Includes CD of book read by Jay Leno himself!!!

[Angie]

This was pretty cute. We saw Jay Leno live and he told several very funny stories about his parents so it was fun to see more of them. The little Jay was super cute- illustrations were great!

[Cindy]

Best if you listen to the audio version of Jay telling the story.

[Jo]

Read this for homework in my children class. This was pretty cute.

[Wendy]

FUn book great story and super pictures!

[Nicole]

This children's story by Jay Leno was pretty cute, you can totally hear the tone of the author come through in the book. Well done, my 3 year old and I both enjoyed this.

[Kyra Boettcher]

it was good and it was funny

[Peg]

Children's book