Smith, Lane. (2010) It’s a book. Walker Books Australia, Newtown, N.S.W.
About the book
Monkey is reading, and his friend Jackass asks what a book can do.Can it Text? Blog? Scroll? Wi-Fi? Tweet? No. It’s a book. After many questions Jackass takes the book and begins to read. But does he really understand what books are? This delightful book, with its cartoon style illustrations, is suitable for children aged 3 and up.
Trailer available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4BK_2VULCU
Teaching about literature
There are four significant understandings about literature in this book which I wouldtake into account when planning. Firstly, in order to fully understand the storyline, the pictures need to be ‘read’ in conjunction with the text, as is the case with all good picture books. Secondly, the book represents a conversation between two characters, although neither inverted commas (speech marks) nor speech balloons are used. Thirdly, there is intertextuality: the content of ‘the book within the book’ is based on Treasure Island (Stevenson, 1883).This section requires background about adventure stories, pirates, etc. Finally, the characters are anthropomorphised: that is, they behave and speak as though they were human.
Using texts functionally [Text User]
Is this text fiction or non-fiction? What is its purpose?
Who usually reads picture books? What age groups could enjoy this text? Would your mum and dad /caregiver enjoy this?
How does each child in the class rate this on a ‘not funny – very funny’ scale? Do you think the author/illustrator meant it to be funny?
Participating in the meaning of texts [Text Participant]
It may be important to ascertain which children have knowledge about and access to computers before reading the book.
When it is read aloud, does it sound like a story? What is different? What does it sound like?
What does the style of the illustrations remind you of?
Breaking the code [Code Breaker]
Readers need to understand that the text is a conversation between two characters except for the page which shows the book’s content. Font colour indicates which character is speaking. Black print, together with font size and style, and the use of inverted commas indicate the text of the book page when it is opened.
Other possible teaching points about print conventions include
– question marks, exclamation marks, contractions
– ellipsis (three dots) and its function
– omission of inverted commas for speech
– the text message block
– the use of capital letters and a smaller font for the last two pages (and how this might be read)
Visual conventions include
– circles for movements and action
– musical notes to indicate sound
– use of extreme close-ups – e.g. What emotion is the monkey feeling? Where do we ‘look’ to read the emotions / how does the illustrator convey them?
– the use of the clock
Critically analysing and transforming texts [Text Analyst]
The book provides many opportunities for text analyst work.
• Do animals really behave like this? Why might the author have chosen to use animals rather than human characters?
• The gender of the author – Is Lane Smith is a man or a woman? Would it make a difference?
• The gender of the animals – Would changing assumptions about gender make a difference to the story??
• The word ‘jackass’ has two meanings – 1) a type of donkey 2) a stupid or idiotic person. Would the book be as funny (‘punny’) if the jackass was replaced by another animal?
• Which does the author want us to prefer – books or computers?
• Would people who don’t know about / have access to computers enjoy this book?
