You cannot read this book. I am not sure how I read this book. After all, it is banned. Why? Not because of meanines that hurt things or blow things up or even because it says a bad word. Nope. But because there are giraffes. And dinosaurs. Even avocados. The NERVE of some people!
Yes, This Book Is Banned is hyperbole (except for the dinosaurs, the reason some people ban dinosaurs is that they do not think they were real). However, the idea behind it is not. People will ban and challenge books all the time. And author Raj Haldar finds ways of showing this in humorous ways (oh we can’t have a book about beds with monsters under them, never mind if you actually paid attention you would learn it was a pair of roller skates and not monster eyes). Or the “Big Bad Wolf” (one kid was scared). And so forth. However, there is some commentary about keeping the channels open and though a book is not for you, that does not mean it is not perfect for someone else.
Julia Patton’s illustrations stay along the exaggeration concept. The cover is a case of you can judge this book by it. Things are goofy, not “solid” and little to no color; except on the pages that have a lot. Now details vary but most pages even, if there is not a lot on them, can have a crowded feeling. They are a case of like them or not, with little middle ground. I am curious about what text/item/image is hiding under the “banned stamp” in a few places, because you can see “something” under it. I would also like to know how that is accomplished.
This particular book is due in late September 2023, but in the meantime you can read P Is for Pterodactyl: The Worst Alphabet Book Ever by them. (Read This book is Banned via an online reader copy.)