It’s a Book

In 1929 the General Federation of Women’s Clubs adopted a holiday that became generally observed in the country by 1949 as National Author’s Day. The resolution for the holiday reads: “by celebrating an Author’s Day as a nation, we would not only show patriotism, loyalty, and appreciation of the men and women who have made American literature possible, but would also encourage and inspire others to give of themselves in making a better America.” I like the idea that authors make a better country and society by their attention to words and ideas.

But what do authors actually do? That is besides sit around in a bathrobe when the rest of the world is dressed and in meetings. Or stare at computer screens or typewriters with the hope of transferring something in their brain to that blank page. And since authors create books, what is a book in this day and age of electronic media?

With the kind of corkscrew humor that has made him famous, Lane Smith explores this question in It’s a Book. On the title page, Smith introduces his three characters—a mouse, a jackass, and a monkey. The ever-patient monkey attempts to read his book, while the jackass peppers him with questions: Does it scroll? Do you blog with it? Can it text or tweet? Finally the jackass picks up the book in question—and finds himself lost in its adventure. As the monkey heads out the door to the library to find another book for himself, he delivers his final, cutting line—“It’s a book, jackass.”

With strong black lines and bold shapes, the artwork was first executed in oil, dry brush, and black ink, and then tweaked on the computer. Everything from the title page to the note about the author gives the child reader a chance to think about what makes books so special. No matter the distractions of the world, books take us to another place, another reality. And they do this without electricity, passwords, or being recharged.

For the preschool set ages 2-5, Lane Smith published another version of the story this year, It’s A Little Book. A donkey and monkey talk about the object, “Is it for sleeping? No. It’s for reading.” And monkey ends with the line: “It’s a book, silly.”

Even in this media-saturated world, books and stories still have the ability to take us away and beguile us. Using humor, story, and character, Lane Smith reminds us why we pick up a book when we could turn to other distractions—and he tells a story that makes us laugh out loud!

So happy National Author’s Day to Lane and to all who create a unique and special item—a book.

Here’s a page from It’s a Book: