Product Description

Like many children, Henry loves books. But Henry doesn’t like to read books, he likes to eat them. Big books, picture books, reference books . . . if it has pages, Henry chews them up and swallows (but red ones are his favorite). And the more he eats, the smarter he gets—he’s on his way to being the smartest boy in the world! But one day he feels sick to his stomach. And the information is so jumbled up inside, he can’t digest it! Can Henry find a way to enjoy books without using his teeth?

With a stunning new artistic style and a die-cut surprise, Oliver Jeffers celebrates the joys of reading in this charming and quirky picture book. It’s almost good enough to eat.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #133492 in Books
• Published on: 2007-04-19
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 32 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780399247491
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From School Library Journal
Starred Review. PreSchool-Grade 3—Henry loves books. In fact, he literally devours them. And the more he eats, the smarter he gets. When he starts eating too many too fast, he can no longer digest them, and their contents get all mixed up. The simple cartoon illustrations twinkle with humor and feeling. Done in paint and pencil on smart backdrops—pages from old books—the pictures set the stage for the quirky story. When forced to give up eating his favorite volumes, Henry eventually learns to enjoy reading them. However, an actual bite taken out of the back cover suggests he still succumbs to the occasional indulgence. This well-done package will charm its audience. The snappy text works well for reading aloud, but older children will enjoy exploring the subtle details hidden in the illustrations and backgrounds.—Julie Roach, Cambridge Public Library, MA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Henry loves books--eating them, that is. The more books he eats, the smarter he becomes, prompting him to devour them at an alarming rate. Henry imagines that if he keeps eating at his current pace, he could eventually become the smartest person on earth. Unfortunately, he starts to get sick from eating so many books, and everything he has learned becomes all jumbled up. Eventually Henry gives up eating books and finds that it can also be satisfying to read them. The text is straightforward and minimal, but Jeffers' illustrations ("created with paint, pencil and Letraset on pages from old books that librarians were getting rid of, the artist found, or people were throwing out") cleverly convey why Henry might find books so enticing. The cover is a pleasing shade of chocolate, and many of the pages look good enough to eat, with print, lines, and texture from the recycled book pages cropping up in unlikely places (see the front cover of this issue). Children will enjoy sinking their teeth into these detail-rich, delectable pictures. Randall Enos
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
Praise for 'How to Catch a Star': 'The best recent picture book by light years, is stylishly spellbinding.' Telegraph 'A story about possibilities and disappointments with a triumphant ending, all of which Jeffers captures through the beautifully expressive changing moods of his little boy.' The Guardian 'This is a magical, beautifully illustrated tale about reaching for dreams.' Mail on Sunday 'Hail to new talent! If only all picture books could be this good.' The Bookseller Praise for 'Lost and Found': 'An uplifting story!pictures of such spare beauty!suffused with a dreamlike quality.' Independent Online 'Oliver Jeffers makes impressive use of space in this affecting story of friendship!illustrations capture feelings of loss and loneliness through the most delicate nuances of facial expression!and body language.' Julia Eccleshare, The Guardian 'Beautifully illustrated, simple warm story!little children will love to share it.' Carousel 'Jeffers has a unique writing and illustrative style. It's a wonderful picture book.' Publishing News Praise for 'How to Catch a Star': ' "How To Catch A Star" is a beautiful debut picture book from an extremely talented and innovative illustrator. This is a fantastic story which teaches children that if you wish hard enough your dreams just may come true.' The Bookseller 'Adults tend to think of waiting as tedious, but the magic of this book is that it understands waiting as children wait -- alert, apprehensive and using their imaginations.' Mail on Sunday 'A stunning debut!' New Talent, Books for Keeps 'If the title sounds magical and optimistic to you, it's probably because that's exactly what this book is.' Book of the Month, Junior Praise for 'Lost and Found': Completely captivating and definitely one of my favourite picture books of the year.' Becky Stradwick, Children's Buyer -- Borders UK, Publishing News 'Deeply satisfying book.' Books For Keeps 'Wonderfully illustrated book.' The Bookseller

Customer Reviews

A good story kid will eat up
Henry loves books. But not like other children love books. No, Henry loves to eat books. Any and all books, though red ones are his favorite. And Henry notices that the more books he eats, the smarter he gets. Unfortunately, once he begins to eat many books in one sitting, the information gets all jumbled up and he doesn't know anything. Besides, it gives him a stomach ache and excessive library fines.

Can Henry enjoy books in any other way?

This lively story is made by its unique illustrations. There is a chomp taken out of the back cover, for Pete's sake! One could pour over them for hours and still find something new, I'm sure. On the flip side, there is a busyness to them, due to the background of every illustration being a book page, that can hamper the read on the first go through. This isn't a problem on successive reads, once the reader knows what to read, but may put some readers off in the bookstore. I encourage readers to give it a second try because the book is too fun to pass over.

The text is also fun, don't get me wrong. And I love that it makes books fun, intelligence inducing and "cool."

Armchair Interviews says: This is a great book for any child's library.

eat it up
This is such a charming book! As so many reviewers have mentioned, the visual details are amazing. Yes, the story is simple, and I think that allows us to enjoy all the extras Jeffers gives us on every page. The plot is predictable to adults, but my son was quite engaged and even a bit worried when we read "This is the worst bit." My 4-year-old loves it and my 2-year-old repeated "monumental" multiple times while we were reading it for the first time. I really enjoyed finding a book with an obvious message, agenda even, that doesn't overdo it.

Clever tale with beautiful illustrations
Oliver Jeffers third book is his best yet. While the story is clever and whimsical, it is the outstanding illustrations that are the star of this book. Jeffers illustrations are bold and unique. Each picture tells a story of its own. Kids and adults alike will love this book.