Summary: Mr. Morris Lessmore loves books and enjoys reading his books whenever possible. But, as the story begins, he and his books are caught up in a wind storm. He and his books end up scattered all over the town. Surprisingly, Mr. Morris soon sees a woman flying in the air with the aid of some flying books. One of the books she is caring is dropped off with Mr. Morris. The flying book then takes Mr. Morris to a library filled with animated books flying around inside the building. The books welcome him into the library and invite him to stay and live with them. Mr. Morris gladly stays for many years, reading the books, sharing the books with the community, and even writing his own book. When he is finished writing his own book, Mr. Morris knows it is time for him to leave and, so, lets his own book fly away. As it flies away his book finds a young girl who follows Mr. Morris' book to the library of flying books.
Reference: Joyce, W. (2012). The fantastic flying books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. New York, NY. Atheneum Book for Young Readers.
Impression: I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I was immediately captivated by this story, by it's illustrations, and by it's though-provoking theme, which is the love of books. I appreciated how Mr. Morris' world, which is initially seen in black and white, quickly changes into magnificent, bright colors when he discovers the flying books. I thought it was a good representation of how our lives come alive when we read and how each book has a life of it's own. I, also, think that it was a good representation of librarians, the people as caretakers of these individual lives. All in all, I think this is a book for people of all ages to enjoy.
Review: First it was an Academy Award–winning animated short. Then it was an intuitively interactive iPad story app. And now it’s a regular old book, which is fitting given that the story is all about the lasting power of books to transport and nourish the soul. Our hero is a bibliophile modeled after legendary children’s-literature advocate William Morris (in spirit) and Buster Keaton (in looks), whose gray-colored world is colorized when he sees a woman fly past, pulled by “a festive squadron of flying books.” One such book leads him to take custodianship of a house full of rambunctious stories. As the years pass, he writes one of his own, which in turn inspires a young girl after he is gone. The message-heavy narrative is lifted by Joyce’s superb artwork, presenting nostalgic, picket-fence scenes with a modeled, dimensional feel built on the animation but given a lustrous polish for the printed page. Perhaps most fascinating, the movie, app, and book taken together present an entirely kid-friendly opportunity to talk about the interplay between content and format.
HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: The movie and app iterations of this work have attracted gobs of acclaim and attention for the book to capitalize on.
Chipman, I. (2012, July). [Review of The fantastic flying books of Mr. Morris Lessmore]. www.booklistonline.com. Retrieved from: http://www.booklistonline.com/The-Fantastic-Flying-Books-of-Mr-Morris-Lessmore-William-Joyce/pid=5428132.
Library Uses: This would be a great book to share with elementary students during Library Month to help promote, celebrate, and talk about the importance of libraries as well as the joy of reading. Students could create their own stories, convert them to small books, and make them come alive with arts and crafts.
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