Review: A Book

 

Title:  A Book

Author:  Mordecai Gerstein

Review Copy Provided by:  Roaring Book Press

About the Book: Once upon a time there was a family who lived in a book. All but the youngest had stories they belonged to--fighting fires, exploring space, entertaining in the circus--but she didn't have one yet.  She wanders through the book, in search of her story.  Through the use of perspective, Gerstein tells her story as if the reader is looking into the book.

My Review:  This is such a fun book!  It is geared for 4-8 year olds.  The youngsters will love the vivid illustrations while the older children will be able to pick out the subtleties that the author includes.  Told from the little girl's perspective, the reader gets to follow her on a journey to find "her story."  Gerstein has done a great job of making it appear that the reader is looking down into the book by using shadows and perspective.  The characters talk in speech bubbles, which is very unique.  Not alot of books do that, so it's hard to find examples to show young writers.  I'm glad that Gerstein used them along with type to tell this story.  The reader gets to meet characters in many genres of literature: fairy tales, mysteries, fantasy, and historical fiction.  These are all genres that are taught to students and this book gives teachers a way to show them to students.  This is a book that children will ask for over and over again, I'm sure, because you can see new things every time you open it.