"The Book That Eats People" by John Perry ( Illustrated by Mark Fearing)

"The Book That Eats People" 

by John Perry ( Illustrated by Mark Fearing)

38 pages /  Print / Humorous

Summary: This is simply the book that eats people! This book can smell the food on your hands if you don't wash them. That makes the book hungry. It hides in the library, sometimes disguising itself by putting on a different book's jacket. It will even eat other books in the library! The book kept eating other children until it was locked away in jail. It couldn't be kept in jail for long, so it was sent to the zoo. It would not eat junk food that they sold at the zoo, it only wanted to eat people. Never read this book after eating something delicious, it will smell the food and get hungry. Don't read this book alone! It is the book that eats people!

Evaluation: I really enjoy a book that breaks the fourth wall and speaks directly to its readers. The page design in this book is very creative. There is a lot of collage work, and designs borrowed from comic books ( cells, and columns). Some illustrations are made to look like the book was taped together and ripped apart by the monster book. Some pages look like the inside of a stomach of a book that just ate a collection of science textbooks. Creepy. An unexpected monster, a book, is a perfect character to use in a library during Halloween. Students and librarians are the main characters in this book, so they both can find a connection in this book when reading it.

Appeal Terms: science fiction, humorous, fast, foreboding, edgy, magical, creepy, spooky, character centered, quirky