This Book Is Alive! (Living Book) by Justine Avery and Daria Yudina
| This Book Is Alive! (Living Book) by Justine Avery and Daria Yudina | |
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| Category: For Sharing | |
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Reviewer: Jill Murphy
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| Summary: Lovely picture book about the joys of reading and how books really do come alive and create new journeys, ideas and aspirations in the minds of readers. Books want you to read them! | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 40 | Date: March 2020 |
| Publisher: Suteki Creative | |
| ISBN: 978-1948124416 | |
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Books want you to read them! They're not intimidating or standoffish or particular about readers. Books want to be read.
This is the key message in Justine Avery's latest offering, This Book Is Alive!. By anthropomorphising the relationship between book and young reader, she's sending an invitation to all - pick me up, read me, be my friend, we can go on a journey together. It's a great message, don't you think?
It begins with a welcome - Hello! Nice to meet you! and continues with a self-deprecating joke - Apparently, my name is This-Book-Is-Alive. With an exclamation mark. That's a terrible name for a book. It's a sentence. And it's punctuated. And then away we go with a cheerful, rhythmic description of all the great things about books - We're original. (Well, most of us.) And we can be young or old. Short or long. Big or small. Soft or hard-covered. And we end with a message of encouragement to all readers - A book can be anything it wants to be. Just... like... YOU.
As with all Avery's books for sharing, the text is minimal, accessible and rhythmic, optimistic, full of sunshine. I defy any parent-child combo to come away without a smile on their faces and with a renewed desire to find as many books and stories to enjoy as the day can hold.
The illustrations by Daria Yudina are in calming pastel tones, reminiscent of skin, and deceptively minimalist - eyes with a humorous wink, the outline of a castle - or is it a dragon? And is that a magic lamp? - there's more to every page than meets the first glance. I also loved the font choice, which is luxurious and generous, with loops and curls to trace with small fingers.
We're big fans of Justine Avery here at Bookbag Towers. She doesn't overtax the young readers she's creating for and she always puts out a positive message. This Book Is Alive! is a great addition to her collection of works and any child curious about and just beginning to form a love for books will be entranced by it.
Are books alive? I think so. Do you?
If you're looking for a book for bedtime, you could try What Wonders Do You See... When You Dream?
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You can read more book reviews or buy This Book Is Alive! (Living Book) by Justine Avery and Daria Yudina at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy This Book Is Alive! (Living Book) by Justine Avery and Daria Yudina at Amazon.com.
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