Book was given to me from my mother and so fits the “No Money!” square of bingo. This a really cute concept, it is the history of books presented as an autobiography of, Book. Book narrates to you its history and development throughout the ages. This slim volume is written for a younger audience but it also would make a cute gift for the bibliophile in your life (which is how I ended up with it). Book is eager to share and proud of its advances, making for an engaging storyteller.
And I’ve got admit, though I’ve never said this before, that when I feel my pages being flipped, a tingle f excitement runs down my spine. Is this person about to read me? I’m thinking. Or are they just flipping and dipping into me?
Book starts its story with the spoken word, before there was book there was breath passing stories and information through generations. Then came markings and pictographs as people tried to communicate and keep track. As alphabets came into being the written word and book began to take shape.
Clay tablets may have been unwieldy but they were a beginning of information being recorded for posterity. Along came papyrus and while it had much to offer, it was delicate and the use of scrolls tedious. Next was parchment, which had vast improvements over papyrus but was labor intensive and kept writing material from being accessible. With the invention of parchment, shortly after came the form of Book we recognize today, pages bound between covers. After parchment came paper made from a wide variety of textiles, allowing for books to be produced easier than ever before. Along the way Book includes information on writing implements, history and origin of words, printing practices, and technology. It also has cute illustrations and a sprinkling of entertaining quotes.
Fun fact: “The Greeks called papyrus byblos because they imported it from a city port called Byblos. And that’s why someone who can’t resist the temptation of a bookshop is called a bibliophile”
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