Big Ideas From Literature: how books can change your world

LoveReading4Kids Says

April 2024 Book of the Month

A beautiful book before you even open it. It both feels and smells as you imagine a book should and is a pleasure to handle. The text, illustrations and design of each page is beautifully put together and welcoming. On every page, even those without illustrations, there are little sketches or symbols, or change in colour, to draw in the reader.

This is a book about books! A snapshot of literature throughout the ages, asking big questions such as how does literature work, how do stories help us understand life, what is reading really for?

It is a fascinating read from studying the development of written literature, on scrolls and papyrus, through the history of the printing press and on to the actual future of books themselves and how technology might change or alter how we approach a book. In addition to quite well-known facts such as how the printing press changed how books were produced and distributed, it also highlights interesting facts about when nonfiction and fiction books were introduced and how children’s literature wasn’t introduced as a concept till 1744. It also touches on ‘watching stories’ and how books and films work alongside each other.

The book is a complete treasury of not only the different genres of literature, but also a wonderful selection of excerpts from famous books such as Little Women, Alice in Wonderland, and the Hobbit. The book is continually questioning how we read, how reading affects our emotions and feelings, and what books offer us.

I was totally engaged while reading this book and found it both original and fascinating. I can see it sitting on a display table in a school library, when, for the curious, it will spark the imagination and lead people to the joys, comfort, and genuine pleasure of reading.

Rosie Watch

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