It's a Book by Lane Smith

Smith, L. (2010). It's a book. New York: Roaring Brook Press.

This innocent natured book is about a monkey who is reading a book, and a jackass who is using a computer while inquiring what monkey is looking at in his hand. Because of this day and age in technology, Jackass does not understand what a book is, and believes Monkey’s book should have all the various functions and hardware that a computer would have such as passwords, Wi-Fi, and a mouse to scroll down. Towards the end of the book Monkey gets tired of Jackass continuing to pester him about what a book can and cannot do. After allowing Jackass to inspect what a book is, Jackass begins to read the books and enjoys it; not giving it back to Monkey. As Monkey heads to the library, assuming to get a book, Jackass makes a silly joke about charging up Monkey’s book while he is away. Throughout the book there is a mouse that hangs out under Monkey’s hat. The subtle humor captivates the audience as they wonder what smarty comment jackass is going to make. The simple but effective illustrations help move the story along and provide an additional facet of how the story is portrayed. The book is an educational tool that displays how times have changed in the world from pen and paper to the ever growing technology curve. The enchanting illustrations provide a glimpse into the vast emotions of each character in the book. The reader can make the assumption that Monkey’s head is bigger to the endless amount of knowledge he has obtained through reading books. This would be a great to book for librarians to use when introducing the library at the beginning of the year.