I Am a Story

In understated words and bold cartoons, Yaccarino (Billy and Goat at the State Fair) traces storytelling from humanity's earliest days to the present. Writing in the voice of story itself, he portrays evolving methods of conveying stories, printed and otherwise, while illuminating the pivotal roles they have played across eras and cultures. The opening lines ("I am a story. I was told around a campfire") accompany an image of a group of primitive humans gathered around a roaring fire, the storyteller's arms aloft as outlines of zodiac figures float in the night sky above. Yaccarino's sparse narrative avoids historical specifics while including enough details to make explicit the numerous ways stories can be told, including hieroglyphics, medieval tapestries, theater, radio, film, and other technologies. Scenes of book burnings and protests text speak strongly to the power of words, along with the more positive imagery. Yaccarino's global scope, as well as a contemporary campfire scene that brings the book full circle, cements the idea that the stories we share are a profound source of human connection. Ages 4-8. Agent: Rebecca Sherman, Writers House. (Sept.)

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