I’m not sure if I’ve ever given a 1 star review before but I honestly despise this book.

I think it’s important to still review and discuss books I dislike so here goes:

The premise has potential... the idea is that the Jackass has become so used to technology and hasn’t encountered a book before. They are confused and at first suspicious, but eventually get enthralled by the story.

However, it is handled, in my opinion, particularly badly. Monkey does not encourage Jackass to read, they are rather cynical and rude. Jackass is also rather sarcastic in tone, and the story does not round itself off very well either.

I’m also pretty sick and tired of stories that push the idea that children are so consumed my technology that they have no idea about what books or reading is. Children are constantly engaged in reading and will always love the pull of a good story, illustrations and shared reading experiences. Technology, or how these are read, do not interfere with this, but can instead help.

Of course a good balance is important, but there is too much scaremongering around children’s ‘overuse’ of technology.