That's where Bix learns of past generations of humans who used to love to read, and did so without the Eyes controlling their every movement. A rat (theĬlassic motif of the lowest of the low who provides wisdom to the hero) brings her to a library, where Bix is delightfully amazed by the universe of exploration and wisdom there (my favorite She discovers the city under the city one day while running from of the Eyes. The thing is, like most kids, Bix wants to explore her world, learn to do things for herself. The Orwellian Eyes monitor all things human, and they claim they are there to help (I'm sure many adults have seen Star Trek episodes evoking this theme, too). While the humans watch the screens, there is a screen that In their place, people stare at computer screens (sound familiar?). In the tradition of the best children's classics, adults will find multiple layers of meaning, while the text never becomes tooĬomplicated for even the youngest reader.Ī brief summary of the narrative will touch on the theme, but not likely do justice to the depth of narrative and imagery, but here goes: Bix and her family live in a reasonably distantįuture city where human interaction (and book-reading) are passe. When she discovers another world, a city under the city. But one little girl, Bix, breaks the mold Thinking too much themselves (adults will, again, be reminded of many of their own classic reading experiences, from Bradbury to Vonnegut to the Matrix). The Eyes do everything for people, and keep them from In the future, humans haveĪcquiesced to the Eyes, a not-too-difficult-to-understand computer program like EM Forster's Machine (those of you who know that text). Appropriate for preschool kids and elementary-schoolĬhildren alike, it's also the kind of book that parents will enjoy taking part in as well.Ī timely volume about the value of stories and books in the lives of people of all ages, Yaccarino's imagery and text evokes in a small way Pixar's WALL-E. One of my favorite children's books in a long time! This 64-page picture book is the kind parents will read to children over and over again.
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