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A Child of Books
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Picture Books (2016)I am a child of books.
I come from a world of stories.
A little girl sails her raft across a sea of words, arriving at the house of a small boy. She invites him to go away with her on an adventure into the world of stories... where, with only a little imaginaton, anything at all can happen.
Irresistibly engaging characters by Oliver Jeffers set sail and chart their way through Sam Winston's fascinating typographical landscapes in this extraordinary ode to the power and promises of storytelling. Forty treasured children's classics and lullabies are featured in the pictures, providing endless opportunities for discovery, memories and sharing.
Woven together by a simple story line, the one-of-a-kind illustrations in a A Child of Books provide an unforgettable reading experience that will inspire and encourage readers of all ages to explore, question, and imagine timeless stories of their own.
I come from a world of stories.
A little girl sails her raft across a sea of words, arriving at the house of a small boy. She invites him to go away with her on an adventure into the world of stories... where, with only a little imaginaton, anything at all can happen.
Irresistibly engaging characters by Oliver Jeffers set sail and chart their way through Sam Winston's fascinating typographical landscapes in this extraordinary ode to the power and promises of storytelling. Forty treasured children's classics and lullabies are featured in the pictures, providing endless opportunities for discovery, memories and sharing.
Woven together by a simple story line, the one-of-a-kind illustrations in a A Child of Books provide an unforgettable reading experience that will inspire and encourage readers of all ages to explore, question, and imagine timeless stories of their own.
40 pages, Hardcover
First published September 6, 2016
38 people are currently reading
8792 people want to read
About the author
Oliver Jeffers
101 books2,720 followersOliver Jeffers' work takes many forms. His distinctive paintings have been exhibited in galleries worldwide, and HarperCollins UK and Penguin USA publish his award-winning picture books, now translated into over 30 languages.
In 2007, Jeffers was the official illustrator for World Book Day, and in 2008 Lost and Found became Oliver's first book to made into animation by London-based Studio AKA.
Jeffers won a NY Emmy in 2010 for his collaborative work with the artist and director Mac Premo, and in 2013 Jeffers co-directed the video for U2's Ordinary Love with Premo. Originally from Belfast, Northern Ireland, Jeffers now lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
In 2007, Jeffers was the official illustrator for World Book Day, and in 2008 Lost and Found became Oliver's first book to made into animation by London-based Studio AKA.
Jeffers won a NY Emmy in 2010 for his collaborative work with the artist and director Mac Premo, and in 2013 Jeffers co-directed the video for U2's Ordinary Love with Premo. Originally from Belfast, Northern Ireland, Jeffers now lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,047 reviews
April 6, 2017
I had been curious about this book since it won Goodreads best picture book of
the year - last year: 2016!
It's a sensational treasure. One must see it - feel it - touch it - spend time with it. I'm not sure who will have more fun -the parent or the child - exploring this book...
but it's my sense --- that little children will at first be enchanted by the illustrations
As a little girl and little boy are sailing the world together .....discovering treasures in darkness, traveling over mountains of make- believe....etc........
"To make a long story short.....we're made of stories".
"Irresistibly engaging characters by Oliver Jeffers set sail and chart their way through Sam Winston's fascinating typographical landscapes in this extraordinary ode to the
power and promise of storytelling. Forty treasured children's classics and lullabies are featured in the pictures, providing endless opportunities for discovery, memories, and sharing".
Pick you favorites- mom & dad..... snuggle in with your munchkin --I can see where this book could be a 'chatty-parent-child' favorite as the story could change every night.
Alice and Wonderland- Brahm's lullaby- The Golden Goose- The Swiss Family Robinson- Dracula- Rapunzel ... etc. etc. etc.
Enjoy an explosion of laughter, silliness, adventure, invention and imagination!!!!
WONDERFUL!!!!
the year - last year: 2016!
It's a sensational treasure. One must see it - feel it - touch it - spend time with it. I'm not sure who will have more fun -the parent or the child - exploring this book...
but it's my sense --- that little children will at first be enchanted by the illustrations
As a little girl and little boy are sailing the world together .....discovering treasures in darkness, traveling over mountains of make- believe....etc........
"To make a long story short.....we're made of stories".
"Irresistibly engaging characters by Oliver Jeffers set sail and chart their way through Sam Winston's fascinating typographical landscapes in this extraordinary ode to the
power and promise of storytelling. Forty treasured children's classics and lullabies are featured in the pictures, providing endless opportunities for discovery, memories, and sharing".
Pick you favorites- mom & dad..... snuggle in with your munchkin --I can see where this book could be a 'chatty-parent-child' favorite as the story could change every night.
Alice and Wonderland- Brahm's lullaby- The Golden Goose- The Swiss Family Robinson- Dracula- Rapunzel ... etc. etc. etc.
Enjoy an explosion of laughter, silliness, adventure, invention and imagination!!!!
WONDERFUL!!!!
September 12, 2016
This isn't a picture book for children. Not really. This is a picture book for adults who grew up reading books and are in love with stories and are now reading picture books to their children. Because the illustrations are beautiful, but the little kids aren't going to derive the full enjoyment from realizing that the waves the ship is sailing on are made out of lines from Treasure Island and Captain Kidd, and that the wings of adventure are made out of words from Peter Pan and that the leaves of the fairy tale forest are Snow White and Rose Red.
This is a beautiful book, and I think it will be loved by book lovers all over the world.
This is a beautiful book, and I think it will be loved by book lovers all over the world.
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May 2, 2017A sea of imagination, a sea of words, a world of stories; A Child of Books. Some people may have forgotten where they live, these words, though I doubt this is you, my friends on GoodReads. Take the journey anyway, sail away with Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston, for this trip is free.
This creatively worded and stunningly illustrated blend of fairytales and children’s classics handed down in time is a tribute to writing, to authors, to children, to readers, to the minds of thinkers. Irresistible.
This creatively worded and stunningly illustrated blend of fairytales and children’s classics handed down in time is a tribute to writing, to authors, to children, to readers, to the minds of thinkers. Irresistible.
November 4, 2019
"I am a child of books. I come from a world of stories and upon my imagination I float."
Seldom have a book's opening lines spoken to me more. This is the most beautiful love letter I've ever read.
Seldom have a book's opening lines spoken to me more. This is the most beautiful love letter I've ever read.
February 21, 2018
Another hard to rate book. The illustrations are very good, polished and interesting. I would be happy with these if I was the illustrator.
The story is lacking, and stating the obvious. Books take you on adventures, travel to new places etc. Everyone on goodreads will already know this and I expect a few children have cottoned on to this too.
The illustrations are inventive and fun, a mixture of paint, pen and ink, print, photography, text. One page the children hide in the woods and the tree trunks are photographs of closed books (the pages side) with the branches made of lines of text. Some of the printed words are funny, dad's newspaper has some amusing articles.
5 stars for the illustrations 1 star for the story.
The story is lacking, and stating the obvious. Books take you on adventures, travel to new places etc. Everyone on goodreads will already know this and I expect a few children have cottoned on to this too.
The illustrations are inventive and fun, a mixture of paint, pen and ink, print, photography, text. One page the children hide in the woods and the tree trunks are photographs of closed books (the pages side) with the branches made of lines of text. Some of the printed words are funny, dad's newspaper has some amusing articles.
5 stars for the illustrations 1 star for the story.
November 14, 2016
Each year I and my family read and rate all the Goodreads picture book nominees. This one is nominated for 2016. I make a few comments and then add their separate ratings and a comment. There's 20 (15 first round and 5 new ones for the semi-final round) and this is the twelfth being rated. My rating might be somewhat influenced by the family, naturally. I would have rated this 3, maybe, but since most of them rated it 4. . .
Hurbinek died in the first days of March 1945, free but was not redeemed.
Nothing remains of him: he bears witness through these words of mine.
Primo Levi. “If This is a Man – Truce.”
“The universe is made of stories, not of atoms.” Muriel Rukeyser
These two quotes that frame the book and the artwork are the two best things about it. The idea of being raised by books--you read and are shaped by them--is good, librarians and teachers and parents and readers will like it, but it is not really original except in the visual dimensions. I found it to be a not entirely imaginative essay about the imagination, but I still liked the art, and the point it makes about how language constitutes the world. I thought 3 1/2 stars but I'll admit Harry and Lyra's reviews bumped this rating up.
Tara (my wife): 4 stars. For the art.
Harry (11): 4 1/2 stars. Everything was made of words, which I liked, and the last bit of the book was just CRAZY!
Hank (10): 2 1/2 stars.
Lyra (9): 4 1/2 stars. I liked how everything was made of words. They climbed on words and sailed on words. Words, words, words!
Hurbinek died in the first days of March 1945, free but was not redeemed.
Nothing remains of him: he bears witness through these words of mine.
Primo Levi. “If This is a Man – Truce.”
“The universe is made of stories, not of atoms.” Muriel Rukeyser
These two quotes that frame the book and the artwork are the two best things about it. The idea of being raised by books--you read and are shaped by them--is good, librarians and teachers and parents and readers will like it, but it is not really original except in the visual dimensions. I found it to be a not entirely imaginative essay about the imagination, but I still liked the art, and the point it makes about how language constitutes the world. I thought 3 1/2 stars but I'll admit Harry and Lyra's reviews bumped this rating up.
Tara (my wife): 4 stars. For the art.
Harry (11): 4 1/2 stars. Everything was made of words, which I liked, and the last bit of the book was just CRAZY!
Hank (10): 2 1/2 stars.
Lyra (9): 4 1/2 stars. I liked how everything was made of words. They climbed on words and sailed on words. Words, words, words!
June 7, 2022
A girl enthralled with books sails across the sea of tales to beckon a boy to join in her search for stories of Peter Pan, Swiss Family Robinson, Kidnapped, Alice in Wonderland, The Count of Monte Cristo, Pinocchio, Gulliver’s Travels, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Robinson Crusoe, nursery rhymes, and fairy tales. May be tasking for a young child but the child within you will be delighted at the artfully and wordy voyage around the world.
May 5, 2025
Knygų mugėj įkalbėjo nusipirkti leidėja - ir tai toks keistas pirkinys, nes skaitymo joje beveik nėra, o tuo pat metu knygos neįmanoma perskaityti. Aprašyme vadinama "ode literatūrai", taip ir yra - toks paminklas, nes puslapiuose piešiniai susideda iš tekstų. Tų tekstų, iš kurių susideda nupieštų vaikų pasaulis. Taigi tokia tezinė knyga - siužeto joje praktiškai nėra. Bet gal dėl to, kad ta tezė labai rezonuoja (turbūt daugelis čia tokių, kurie vaikystėj, o gal ir toliau, susideda iš knygų), - labai gražu. Ir tai, kad visų citatų, iš kurių dėliojasi paveikslai, net neįmanoma perskaityti, - kažkaip atrodo visiškai teisinga.
December 23, 2016
Stunning!
January 8, 2022
Bücher und die Geschichten darin machen alles besser. Zauberhaftes, herzerwährmendes Bilderbuch, was ich am liebsten jedem Kind in die Hand drücken würde ♥️
May 22, 2017
A great book to demonstrate to children where reading can take them and the transformative power of stories, and the sheer awesomeness of story plus imagination. This book is a celebration of books! It honors the great classics and their authors. It is unique and interactive, in that there are tons of teeny, tiny words much too small for these forty-something eyes to make out, which had my son excitedly proclaiming "I can read that for you". He already adores reading and loved asking me about all the books...which I had read, what they were about, and most importantly, when would he be old enough to read them. He also enjoyed educating me on the brothers Grimm. His favorite part though was quizzing me on who wrote each book from the back pages. I gotta say, my memory is pretty good. This book (and sharing it with my little guy) made my heart happy. 4.5 stars
November 12, 2016
This book is beautiful. If like me you've been a bookworm since you were tiny the story will be all too familiar as it discusses that special world bookworms inhabit and how stories shape the world we live in giving us infinite worlds to explore and escape to.
I particularly love the art work which combines illustrations, images of books and passages of texts all integrated to make clever pictures (eg text used to make up the sea or clouds or a monster).
A really beautiful book for bookworms young and old.
I particularly love the art work which combines illustrations, images of books and passages of texts all integrated to make clever pictures (eg text used to make up the sea or clouds or a monster).
A really beautiful book for bookworms young and old.
May 21, 2017
το σύμπαν δημιουργήθηκε από ιστορίες, όχι από άτομα.
#readathon17 [7/13] ~ [ένα παιδικό βιβλίο που να εκδόθηκε από το 2011 και μετά]
#readathon17 [7/13] ~ [ένα παιδικό βιβλίο που να εκδόθηκε από το 2011 και μετά]
November 7, 2016
“I am a child of books. I come from a world of stories and upon my imagination I float.”
An ocean of words takes us on an adventure filled with treasures, castles, monsters, and wonder. So much wonder! The words and art created by Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston will take readers on a beautiful journey of imagination and inspiration.
The love of reading, books, and words lives on the pages of this book in more ways than one. In the words and in the art. The words create images in your heart and soul and on the page. The water is words, tree branches are words, mountains to climb are words! The pictures are created out of lines from beloved classic tales like Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Frankenstein, Robinson Crusoe, and more. Each and every page is a work of art. Truly extraordinary!
So why the 4 stars? *shrugs* My nephew wasn’t as impressed as I was. Perhaps this book is more for the adults reading the bedtime stories. Picture books aren't just for kids anymore. :)
Hope you pick this beauty up to enjoy and remember!
I found myself remembering the first time I read some of my favorites. The day I sat in the corner of the living room with James and the Giant Peach on my lap and giant headphones over my ears in an attempt to block out my brothers and sisters fighting over the TV is one of my clearest book memories. This book brought me back there to that oh-so-long-ago day for a few moments again. I can still smell that peach!
August 20, 2016
I'm going to have to read this book many more times to fully appreciate each and every detail that is on all of the pages. Just beautiful.
This book would make a beautiful theme to go back and discuss throughout the year.
This book would make a beautiful theme to go back and discuss throughout the year.
September 18, 2016
A love song to books and readers
October 26, 2018
❣️ هذه الكتاب فيه الكثير و الكثير من الحب
رسومه نص بحد ذاتها
والنص الأدبي لا يقل روعة.
سيبهرك هذا الكتاب.
وإن كنت مصممًا، رسامًا وعاشقٌ للكتب،فستشعر أن هذا الكتاب طُبع لك.
كتاب للأطفال، ربما.
لكن ستحبه حتمًا.
رسومه نص بحد ذاتها
والنص الأدبي لا يقل روعة.
سيبهرك هذا الكتاب.
وإن كنت مصممًا، رسامًا وعاشقٌ للكتب،فستشعر أن هذا الكتاب طُبع لك.
كتاب للأطفال، ربما.
لكن ستحبه حتمًا.
December 15, 2016
This is one of the most simple, beautiful, magical things I've ever read/looked at. studying the texts that have been used as part of the artwork is half the fun. I love the artwork style and the message is everything to me so, yeah, I love it. If only there were more of it!
October 13, 2016
A love letter to books.
February 6, 2017
3.5 out of 5
The story is simple and not unheard of before but it definitely rings true: books can help you travel the world.
The illustrations are cool. They are literally made of stories!
For example, the tree trunks in this forest of fairy tales are made of old books and the branches are actual lines from such tales as Little Red-Cap or Hansel & Gretel:
And guess what classics this monster is made from:
Ahh... and this spread is just plain beautiful:
All in all, since A Child of Books provides "endless opportunities for discovery, memories, and sharing," it is a picturebook for booklovers of all ages.
The story is simple and not unheard of before but it definitely rings true: books can help you travel the world.
The illustrations are cool. They are literally made of stories!
For example, the tree trunks in this forest of fairy tales are made of old books and the branches are actual lines from such tales as Little Red-Cap or Hansel & Gretel:
And guess what classics this monster is made from:
Ahh... and this spread is just plain beautiful:
All in all, since A Child of Books provides "endless opportunities for discovery, memories, and sharing," it is a picturebook for booklovers of all ages.
December 2, 2017
According to this, the only genres worth reading are fantasy and adventure. "A Child of Stories" would be a slightly more accurate title. But what about kids who love to use books to learn, those who enjoy the Eyewitness books, and biographies, etc.?
And, no, I have not acquired a taste for Jeffers' art style.
Too bad that this got published when there are so many other odes to reading worth reading....
And, no, I have not acquired a taste for Jeffers' art style.
Too bad that this got published when there are so many other odes to reading worth reading....
August 18, 2019
Books take readers on adventures to explore new or unusual places. This is the theme of Jeffers' book. While the story here is very thin in content, the artwork is clever, combining art media, but most importantly, integrating the text of classic books into the pictures themselves.
August 20, 2016
This books is EVERYTHING. I'm so happy Candlewick sent me a copy before the first week of school because I WILL be sharing it with all of my students, K-8. Full review to come.
August 24, 2016
"...we're made from stories."
(Would pair nicely with This is Sadie.)
(Would pair nicely with This is Sadie.)
September 21, 2016
A lovely literary picture book.
July 28, 2018
This book is so powerful. I think this book has a very important message for all children to do with imagination, information and books. I think it could spike children's love for reading. I think this book leaves you with lots to think of and could be used as a stimulus for discussions. I think the illustrations were very interesting, intricate, detailed and thought-provoking. I think this book is similar to a book called "The book of mistakes" by Corinna Luyken as it has a very powerful moral of the story. I would highly recommend this book to children and should be in all classrooms.
April 4, 2023
Si amas leer, éste es tu libro infantil 📚✨
September 17, 2018
I loved this book!! We read it in the first PGCE English lesson and it highlights how children (and adults) should love to read as it sparks the imagination! Beautiful illustrations.
September 28, 2017
An absolutely endearing book! This one tugs at my heart strings and makes me long for more adventures, both in my own imagination and also in the vibrant world around me. Each time that I read this book, it feels like I'm receiving a huge and satisfying, lift-you-off-of-the-ground-and-twirl-you hug.
April 16, 2020
Full review with teaching tools: http://www.unleashingreaders.com/?p=1...
Oliver Jeffers has a way of writing such thought-provoking books with beautiful artwork that are just a bit weird yet so brilliant that you can’t help but reading it over and over. I know that sounds like such a fan girl review, but if you’ve read any of his books, you know exactly what I am talking about. Jeffers’s newest book is no exception. This book is about how stories can carry you wherever your imagination can imagine. The brilliance of actually using words from classic books to carry the main character on her journey shows how all of these books have carried so many readers on adventures that only an author’s imagination mixed with the reader’s imagination could take them on.
Beautiful.
Oliver Jeffers has a way of writing such thought-provoking books with beautiful artwork that are just a bit weird yet so brilliant that you can’t help but reading it over and over. I know that sounds like such a fan girl review, but if you’ve read any of his books, you know exactly what I am talking about. Jeffers’s newest book is no exception. This book is about how stories can carry you wherever your imagination can imagine. The brilliance of actually using words from classic books to carry the main character on her journey shows how all of these books have carried so many readers on adventures that only an author’s imagination mixed with the reader’s imagination could take them on.
Beautiful.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,047 reviews