A Book About Books

Sometimes it’s just a given that kids will learn the ins and outs of a book. We spend so much time reading them the actual story, that we forget about how a book is actually constructed. I thought I knew the basics of a book – years at uni. taught me how to find the information I needed to put together a reference list at the end of every essay. It was only when I began to work as an editor and studied a postgraduate course in publishing that I realised how much goes into the ‘other’ sections of a book besides the main story or text.

Let me introduce you to Parsley Rabbit – our guide to book parts! Parsley has put together a book for us (with the help of author Frances Watts and illustrator David Legge!), appropriately called “Parsley Rabbit’s Book About Books”.

Parsley introduces us to endpapers, the title page and the imprint page. With the help of a carrot trail, he teaches us to read from left to right (something we often assume, but forget to point out to our small listeners). He discusses page numbers, flaps, fiction and non-fiction. He talks about sharing books, places to read books and giving books as presents.

Wish I had met Parsley in my early editing days – he would have taught me a lot!