There isn't much in the way of plot to this book. It's primarily representation of the reasons children love to read. It also adheres pretty strictly to the metaphor of eating books representing that enthusiasm so it would be a decent way to introduce kids to figurative language.

A charming little love story about books and how we read them and lose ourselves in them. It is reminiscent of Shel Silverstein with unique "paper cutout" art. An absolute must read for children and adults alike.

Note: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated in any other fashion for the review and the opinions reflected below are entirely my own. Special thanks to the publisher and author for providing the copy.

An interesting concept with fun illustrations, however I think the concept of the book was much higher target audience age than the illustration and marketing made it seem. I would say the youngest age that the concept would be for is 7-9 but the illustrations and pictures are more geared to 3-5. I think it does the book a disservice to have the range be 3-8, it's far too broad and a bit misleading for the contents of the book.

I think if this book was remarketed towards slightly older children (1st/2nd grade) then it would land much more firmly into an audience that would devour it.

Since my child read it with me, I will include her note which is that she "thinks it's weird that the authors names are Mrs and Mrs instead of their real names". (Not something that bothered me, but in the good faith of keeping the review honest, that was her only feedback after completing the story).

I would rate this 3.5 out of 5.

Such a cute book! Read it with another adult and we both enjoyed the story and the pictures. Will definitely get it for our Media Center.

This is quite an unusual book. The pictures are fantastic, but I found the concept of the story a little odd. I don't think children would completely understand the meaning of eating a book without some explanation from an adult. It was quite fantastical, and not the sort of book I would choose to read with children, but others may really like this type of surreal story.

Thank you to the author, Union Square Kids and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a wonderfully quirky and amazingly illustrated book - as a lifelong bibliophile I loved it! Telling the story of three children who want to read/eat a book, and are themselves eaten by the book and find themselves in an adventure, the book focuses on the love of reading and the use of your imagination. So - why only 3 stars? Because much as I think this book is fantastic, it's way beyond the capacity of the target audience (ages 3 to 8), as evidenced by the several children I read this with.

Woo-eee! A funny, frenetic book that encourages literacy? Count me in!

The AWESOME illustrations that appear to float on the page will grab a child's attention, and the terrific story about eating up EVERY word will stick around.

This book is a delightful win/win . . . no fork required.

I thought that this was an enjoyable book

The story was easy to follow and it was fun to read with my daughter

She thought it was really fun and loved being able to help – she is now 5 and has recently learnt to read and she was able to join in and that made it even more enjoyable for us

The illustrations are lovely and they really bring the story to life, they reminded us of the illustrations used in the Charlie and Lola series that my daughter really enjoys

It is four stars from me for this one – highly recommended!

I received an electronic ARC from Union Square Kids - A subsidiary of Sterling Publishing through NetGalley.
The quirky illustration style is reminiscent of Shel Silverstein's style. Do study the details to see how the simple text plays out. The play on sayings such as "devour a book" is twisted to a humorous look at books eating children - only to discover that the children are actually eating them too. The concept is wonderful but the execution is a bit rough. A few more connections and more dialogue may have helped.

I liked this book. The art is the best part. Parts of it may be confusing. The kids get eaten by their books, and then they eat the books right back. The word play is a bit wonderous. At times it rhymes, at time it does not. This book will not be for everyone as it is a bit odd, but for those who get it, they will love it.

Very cute little meta book about books with the main messages being about how you can get "lost" in a book and finding the right one for you that you can "devour" and will impact you.. While I enjoyed it, I think it's a little too abstract for my students. Artwork was very different and i liked how the bright colors popped agains the black and white line art.

I like the layered paper art style as well as the bright colors contrasted against the black and white background. I found the story itself a bit lacking. It was a cute message of how you can get lost in books, but the initial description of being eaten by a book was confusing and I'm not sure if kids would get the metaphor in the end.

This is a truly weird and hilarious book. It tells the story of three odd children, Gerald, Geraldine and Sheila who get eaten by books and then eat the books themselves. The pictures are black and white with pops of the three primary colours drawing the eye to the interesting pictures and giving a 3D feel. The words are silly, with some expressive text and weird fonts to emphasize the silly ideas. I can definitely see children giggling and asking to reread this story again and again. I would recommend this book to parents and teachers of children in the age 3-10 range as a read aloud or shared reading experience with children eventually being able to continue the story on their own. I could also see the illustration style being something that art teachers want to use as a mentor piece for creating 3d art. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this book!

This book is charming. Three children get eaten by books! The bibliophilia, imagination, and adventure are all riveting. It made me think about how a person has a relationship of sorts with the books they read. The illustrator uses pops of color in a clever and eye-catching way. I read this via NetGalley, courtesy of the publisher.

While the prose managed to make me chuckle out loud a couple times, it is the illustrations in How to Eat a Book that just delighted the inner child in me. I mean, just look at them!

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for giving me a most wonderful ARC.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. A slightly weird book about getting eaten by the book. Not sure kids will like this as much.

Sheila, Gerald, and Geraldine snuggle in to read their books but, their books end up eating them! They each have a different adventure. Sheila let's go of the world around her and enjoys, Gerald loves seeing the world up close and embraces new learning while Geraldine let's herself go completely wild.

Beautiful illustrations with a message for kids to allow reading to take them to magical places.

NetGalley and Union Square kids allowed me to read this book voluntarily. Pub date Oct. 4, 2022.

This is a strange but interesting book.
The illustrations are so vivid. The illustrations made me feel like reading a pop-up book.
It's a bit the creepy story. Needs to be more cautious to share with young kids.

This was so adorable! I loved the spin on devouring books! I thought it was so clever. And I loved that it wasn’t in color until they were inside the stories. So vivid!

Do not misinterpret my love of the illustrations of How to Read a Book, a picture book by Mr. and Mrs. MacLeod — whomever they are. The unique three-dimensional illustrations did make me gasp with pleasure and joy, as did the similarity of the pen-and-ink drawings to the iconic Edmund Gorey. But the message of how reading changes readers and the unexpected prose is really the best part of all.

I wish I could give it more than five stars! Here’s a picture book that will resonate with grownups even more than with the children, who will devour it over and over again.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley, Union Square Kids and Sterling Publishing in exchange for an honest review.