The Book That Eats People

The Book That Eats People

John Perry, illustrated by Mark Fearing

Triangle Press, 2009

$15.99, Hardcover

978-1582462684

February 13^th, 2012

Genre: Humor

Age: 4+

Description: The unsuspecting reader is warned from page one that they need to be careful around this book because it has already eaten several people and is always hungry for more.

Opinion: The art of this book is rendered in Photoshop and incorporates collage elements. This is a great read aloud book and a great independent story for all the funny elements and intricate illustrations to examine. The art is so clever. Most of the pages are rendered like the actual pages of a book so you can see the edges of the pages, etc. The stamp for “This Book Belongs To” at the front of the page is actually the dedication. The first page is a huge warning of caution—if you hear something growling put the book down immediately and put heavy things on it—followed by a picture of everything from a bowling ball, safe, chain, and huge dumbbell on top of the book to keep it closed. The readers are told that this is not a storybook (with a picture of Goldilocks running from the three bears) nor a book of rhymes (the evil dish running away with the spoon who is actually being kidnapped)—it is a book that eats people (picture of a large mouth with big teeth). It then goes on to tell the various stories of the book’s previous victims, such as Sammy Ruskin who forgot to wash his hands after eating a peanut butter sandwich which the book thought smelled yummy so it devoured him. So if you find yourself with this book beware! It is always hungry! This book is lots of fun for young kids and even has some intelligent humorous points that adults can enjoy as well. This is a great example of a picture book that would appeal to tweens.