The Book That No One Wanted to Read

Product Information

Is your child a reluctant reader? Going so far as to say “I hate reading!”? If so, then believe me, this is a book you need in your library! Interactive and funny, The Book No One Wants to Read talks to the young readers and brings itself to life as it occupies their “reading time”. They’ll be able to relate to it and feel as if they’re playing with a friend when it tells them that they should “pretend to read” while they are actually completing some of the challenges and games that are included in the book (but seriously, they really ARE READING!) The illustrations are simple and easy to connect with what the book is saying and it’s also easy to read for beginning and intermediate readers. Now I want to say here that Ayoade is in fact incorrect, this is NOT the first book to use this technique. John Agard also wrote a book narrated by a book, My Name is Book, also aimed at children, so this claim is not actually true.

This book is so hilarious and weird. It goes off on these crazy tangents with silly jokes before finally getting to the actual story, and then it veers off into another wild tangent. I love it! The story was not at all what I expected. Alone, fearful, settled in the dark corner untouched, and hence left to not feel the disappointment of others if we are NOT enough.This is the first children’s novel from TV personality Richard Ayoade and contains his dry, straight-talking sense of humour throughout. The book features a young girl visiting her local library and coming across a book on the top shelf of a bookcase that talks to her telepathically. The story is told from Books POV. Then once we know who we are, we set off into the imaginary library to seek out this " unwanted" book.

The Book No One Wants to Read is the first of the "you don't like reading so read this!" books I've ever actually liked or considered worthwhile. Now, it still has the irksome the book is talking to the kid theme to it, but where it didn't work with previous books, it actually works in this one. Instead of just acting goofy, this book is conspiratorial with the reader. Readers find themselves making a deal, appeasing not only the supposed distaste they have for reading but entering into a secret in the process. I do judge my books by cover before opening to see what lay inside. A cover can say a lot about the story inside. The length of the book is just right for middle-graders and the writing was aimed at the right level, especially the humour. I can see children laughing along with Book and his tales. What is it that makes you want to read a book? They say you should never judge a book by its cover. But how else can you decide whether you might like it? You cant read a book to work out whether you want to read that book because, by that stage, you will have already read it. This was my first book from Richard Ayoade. I didn’t know anything about him until someone told me that he has other funny books too and I can certainly vouch for that with this one!Because this is a book that is written to encourage children to read on their own, I wouldn’t recommend it as a group read aloud. Also, there are two mentions of the word “butt”, complete with an illustration, that some parents may not be pleased with, as it does encourage the child to “wiggle your butt (but not too much! People will definitely think you’re not reading!)”. So, what happened to the book that nobody wanted to read? There’s a plot twist! I leave it for you to find out when you read this book 😉. I was glad it wasn't much longer, the length seemed just about right, and actually, despite Ayoade being quite clear that there isn't a point in these literary shenanigans, well actually there might be just one or two, hidden in there (don't tell the kids, folks, works better when they think it's pure popcorn). I like that (underneath the silliness) we get to explore some deep ideas about why we love to read and what is truly important in the stories we write or share. Imagination and courage are essential in life, and we get those from the books we read.

Overall, this has been an entertaining read and I am sure it scores with the children with its fantasy and imaginative storytelling also the funny drawings. A great way to inform our young readers to explore more of their reading choices, and probably to start writing stories (you would understand once you know the ending).

Amazingly enough, there is a kind of storyline as the book makes friends with your child, for it does have a beginning, a middle, and an end with simple graphics that are large and colorful. From actor-author-broadcaster-comedian-filmmaker Richard Ayoade comes a book narrated by . . . a book. Quirky, smart, and genre-busting, this is the saga of a book that nobody wants to read—until the day it meets YOU. We become, per the book telling us to, the "you" of the story as we go into an imaginary library to discover this book no one want to read. I often get (slightly) annoyed when a cover and/or the title seem to have little to nothing to do with the story. Argh.