  | Full Text Reviews: Booklist - 10/15/2016 Yaccarino engages readers as he takes them on a journey through the evolution of a story, from a tale told around a campfire in the days before written language to the present, where stories can live in a tiny computer in a pocket. Perhaps the most endearing message is how a story transcends time and space: it can “live forever” and be carried with you anywhere—in the mind. The interior pages preceding and following the story illustrate the different forms in which a story can be told, like film, television, and so on. His bold, colorful spreads are not only vivacious in nature and supplement his terrific, artful text, they also emphasize how stories have transformed over time, the emotions they evoke, the diverse types of places they may be found, and their vast reach in the universe. A tiny red bird can be found in each spread, a likely symbol of how stories can grow wings, take flight, and transport you anywhere. An inspirational tale of the power of language, in all its forms. - Copyright 2016 Booklist. School Library Journal - 10/01/2016 PreS-Gr 3—This picture book imagines the story of story—from the story's point of view. Yaccarino's characteristic bright, stylized illustrations take readers from an ancient campfire to a modern-day one, making key stops along the way as the tale proudly narrates through the page turns. "I am a story. I was told around a campfire, then painted on cave walls. I was carved onto clay tablets and told in pictures." Together words and illustrations capture a broad range of storytelling methods and platforms: art, writing, theater, radio, television, film, computer, and more. The book also subtly tackles the struggles of access as story prevails through time, contrasting wealthy private libraries with public libraries and showing failed censorship attempts. Coming full circle, the book closes as it started, with stories around a campfire—this time with a modern-day family under the constellations that were represented in the beginning by pictures in the sky. VERDICT A simply told but powerful celebration of the importance of story as well as a jumping-off point for more in-depth study of communication through history. An excellent choice for classroom discussions.—Julie Roach, Cambridge Public Library, MA - Copyright 2016 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Loading...
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