Review - You Can Read

You Can Read
by Helaine Becker
illustrated by Mark Hoffmann
Date: 2017
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: library

In this fun and funny celebration of literacy, kids of all ages will discover that the act of reading is a daring adventure that can take you anywhere! You can read at the playground, under the sea, at the opera and even in outer space! It turns out you can read everywhere! And when you do, you open yourself to a universe of adventure.

Presented in light-hearted, rib-tickling verse that's perfect for reading aloud, You Can Read sings it loud and proud: Books are awesome. And so are the people who read them.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

This is basically just a celebration of reading, written in rhyme. Spoiler alert: You can read anywhere! That's the basic gist of the whole book.

The illustrations are not really my thing. I also found them a bit confusing at the end. Throughout the book, we see the titles of the books the characters are reading. They're not meant to be read as part of the rhyming text, though. So on the penultimate page, when the characters' books are part of the rhyming verse, it really threw me. I didn't read those words as part of the text the first time, so I thought there was half a verse missing!

Kids who are really in love with reading might appreciate this more than a general audience. For me, it was just okay.

Premise: 3/5
Meter: 3/5
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 3/5
Originality: 3/5

Enjoyment: 3/5

Overall: 3 out of 5