I am already thinking about gift books for the upcoming holidays--books to review, books to mention, books to fit into certain slots: cookbooks are a snap, but what to do with little gems? I usually group them as "stocking-stuffers."
But there is one little gem that came out in this spring that won't fit easily into a stocking, unless it belongs to LeBron James: If I Were a Book by José Jorge Letria, illustrated by his son, André Letria (Chronicle, $12.95). It's a picture book, but one for all ages.
Letria's thoughts about books are illustrated with simple, fanciful images. "If I were a book, I'd share my deepest secrets with my readers" is accompanied by a man opening a book cover and peering into a staircase leading deep into the volume. "If I were a book, I'd help someone soar"--the book is a kite. A book with a lion's paws and tail says, "If I were a book, I'd like to have my own magical place in every child's imagination." A cowboy rides the spine of a book--"If I were a book, I'd take readers to the wide open spaces of their own untamable minds."
"If I were a book, I'd crush violence with knowledge."
"If I were a book, I would not want to know at the beginning how my story ends."
"If I were a book, I'd help anchor you to your truest self."
"If I were a book, my scent would be the bouquet of an endless and unequaled day."
"If I were a book, I'd like, above all things, always to be read and always to be free."
It may be too early to think about the upcoming gift-giving season, but If I Were a Book should not be confined by time constraints--every day is a good day to give a book to someone (especially yourself). --Marilyn Dahl, editor, Shelf Awareness for Readers