BOOKS!

Designed in a vertical format reminiscent of Victorian billboards and using a plethora of wood typefaces amid a surfeit of magenta and yellow, this book purports to answer the question “What is a book?”

The author highlights with ponderous humor some of the unique characteristics of books, starting with their physical appearance and construction, how they are designed and, finally, their content. Any child able to read at this level would respond with a big “Duh” to some of the simplistic statements, such as “A long time ago, books were put together by monks who copied each one by hand. That was a good way to do things too.” A list of books and book topics consists mainly of seemingly random titles that would be more familiar to a middle-aged British adult than a contemporary American child. Similarly, a perfunctory description of the role of punctuation employs the Briticism “full stops” without translation for American readers, and erratic capitalization may mystify. Modern children might prefer to read an actual book rather than a poorly designed, nostalgic reverie about books that they are unlikely to have encountered.

Garish colors, dated feel, unclear audience. This book is annoying rather than informative.