Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
The Book of Gold
Picture Book
For ages 5 and up
Random House, 2017 ISBN: 978-0553510775
Isaac’s parents love books. They love the way books smell and how books feel when they are in their hands, and they love all the fascinating information that books contained. Books are so full of possibilities.
Unfortunately, Isaac does not care for books at all. In fact, he is not much interested in anything and it would not be unfair to say that he is a rather dull child.
One day Isaac’s parents take him to visit the New York Public Library. The idea of going into a building full of books thrills them, but Isaac does not feel the same way at all. He has no interest in books and so it isn’t long before the family heads for home. On the way they stop to look in a shop that contains all kinds of curios. Isaac’s parents are hoping that they will find something that will make a suitable birthday gift for Aunt Sadie. Isaac sits on the cold floor to wait. Nothing in the fascinating store attracts his almost non-existent curiosity.
The shopkeeper tries to find something that will interest Isaac and when she fails she tells Isaac about a book called the Book of Gold. She explains that the book contains “all the answers to every question ever asked, and when it is opened, it turns to solid gold.”
The idea of having a book made of gold really appeals to Isaac and he decides to look for it. He goes to a bookstore. He picks up a book left in a diner. He picks up a book that a woman drops, and finds another that is left on a trolley seat. None of the books he finds turn to gold when it opens them.
For months Isaac searches and searches. Then, one day, as he is looking at a book that is called The Seven Wonders of the World, a question pops into his head. It is the first of many questions that come to him as he opens books looking for the Book of Gold. Without even meaning to Isaac begins to discover that books bring forth questions, and they also answer them.
This marvelous book shows readers that books are more than paper and board covers. They excite our curiosity in the world, open up our horizons, and they can even lead us on a voyage of discovery that can last a lifetime. This is a book that will delight adults and children alike. It is a magical tale that is timeless and ageless.
