I Love a Book by Joe Rhatigan is a picture book for children that instills the love of reading and books in children. It is the quintessential type of book that bibliophiles (like me) want to read with their kids. MoonDance Press | November 1, 2017 | Illustrated by Olga & Aleksey Ivanov | Hardcover | 28 pp
The illustrations are absolutely, positively gorgeous. They are magical and brilliant. Just take a look at one of the first drawings which spans both pages.
Notice the line of people sitting down on the right plugged into their devices. Notice the drab coloration and bland expressions and compare that to the child with the open book. This is remarkably poignant depiction of the magic that flows through books and a perfect embodiment of the fundamental truth all bibliophiles are privy to: books open doors to amazing worlds.
I Love a Book is set in a simple rhyme for beginning readers. It shows through words and pictorial delights the different types of adventures a reader can take such as a journey into outer space to meet aliens or a step back in time to visit the ancient pyramids.
My daughter loved the imagery and I found that it piqued her curiosity on my beloved collection of rectangular objects. “Can books really take me places?” she asked me. “Oh, absolutely,” I replied. “No need to buy a ticket. Just buy a book.”
I Love a Book should be considered a must-have for every bibliophile raising children.
I Love a Book
by Joe Rhatigan