Take a look it is in a book (and it’s fun too)

I just counted and if my count is right, this is not only my oddball review of 884 (I like “boxed numbers” or ending in zero or five; or all three being the same….sometimes), but also my SEVENTEENTH Cannonball. (I think I might have reviewed a few books this year. What do you think?) But regardless if this is my 884th or 4th, this book is something special. Which is interesting as The Spell of a Story did not immediately grab me when I first saw/found it. I had seen it advertised as a free online reading copy (can’t beat the price) but said Pass. I saw it at least one more time before I would finally say, “Eh. I’m game.” And lucky for me I was as I would have missed a delightful picture book.

I do not know who Mariajo Ilustrajo is (though I have read at least one other book), and though we know the story of getting a non-reader to read, the way Ilustrajo weaves their story is fresh, new and downright pretty cool. The illustrious are fun, clever, and lighthearted. Not too cartoonish, but just the right amount of silly and “not so realistic” to add the perfect magic. There is little color to start with, but when there is some, it is important. The art pulls a “Wizard of Oz (movie)” by showing “Kansas” (real world) in black and white (or in this case, minimalistic color) and “Oz” (the world of a book) in bold colors. (Still they are minimal in the variety, but what is used is to stimulate the story). The idea of getting a reader out of a nonreader is always interesting to me, especially when it is in a book. I mean, a non-reader won’t get into a book so… but I think we have a winner here.

I am a bit disappointed that this book is not due until June 2024 as I would love to give this as a gift to people for Christmas. It works in the classroom and personal libraries. It might be something you need to promote and physically hand off to an actual child reader, or do in a read aloud setting, but it is worth putting a little effort into it. I think perhaps my favorite part is how the books, though they are just “sitting there altogether on the shelf” (as our young narrator feels) come alive with “little somethings” that hint at what they are about. The ending pages have a few more obvious what books are being promoted, as we see images of Pippi Longstocking and Mary Poppins, but still some more “abstract” concepts as romance is just a “perfume cloud” wafting upwards. These pages are clever and both a plus (how sweet there are familiar books for us) and a minus (it is a bit of a “pull out of the story” as it stops the flow of just being in the moment). There is also a nod to Alice in Wonderland with a “rabbit character” telling our narrator they are “late” and must go on their adventure. Realism and fantasy mix together and you could say some of the adventures are nods to other stories, but also they are classic pieces of stories in general (magic potions, dragons, witches, scary adventure, bats, etc.). 

Overall, this book is a 4.5 as the illustrations are delightful but did not make me OMG BEST EVER. However, it is a book I want to give at least a second read to as I know I missed things the first time I read (as I read via an online reader copy).