What do you think?
Rate this book
The Jacket
The Jacket is a book that needs to be a book. It's a book that pays tribute, in word and form, to all that a book is and can be. Once upon a time there was a girl who had a dog named Egg Cream. This girl loved her dog, but she also loved her special book. And Book loved her. But how about Book and Egg Cream? Could they coexist as the girl's two favorite things in the whole wide world?
48 pages, Hardcover
First published October 14, 2014
3 people are currently reading
197 people want to read
About the author
Kirsten Hall
114 books7 followersKirsten is a native New Yorker. After college, where she majored in English and minored in Child Development, Hall taught preschool and then Kindergarten while studying Early Childhood Education in NYU’s masters program. Her first easy reader book was written (and published) when she was in the 7th grade. Since then she has written approximately 150 early reader and chapter books for children, on a broad range of topics, for publishers including Scholastic, HarperCollins, Barnes & Noble, Random House, and Chronicle.
In addition to writing, Hall operates her own boutique illustration and literary agency, Catbird Productions. Hall currently resides in New York City.
In addition to writing, Hall operates her own boutique illustration and literary agency, Catbird Productions. Hall currently resides in New York City.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 92 reviews
December 6, 2014
Have yet to wrap this up for Christmas because I keep sneaking away to read it. I adore this book and I know my kids will, too. The illustrations are utterly charming and chic. This may be the first story I've read where a book is the main character. Brilliant! Such a marvelous story about the love of books - and how they might also love us just as much.
July 29, 2015
This is a cute little story, gteat for kids who love books and reading. What's more, it will inspire them to get creative and make on their own a jacket for a favourite book.
May 12, 2016
This is a book about a book, a little book that pays tributes to all the books in the world. And it is wonderful.
Book was dreaming of a child to discover and love him, to enjoy his story and make him his favorite book. The story is told from the book’s perspective; it is introspection in the book’s most deep thoughts and fears, something that all books feel. What if I will never be discovered and loved? All books long for readers and for connection.
Then, one day, Book’s worries come to an end and a little girl discovers him. Book is happy but the little girl loves someone else as well. It is her dog, Egg Cream, that can do things a book cannot do. Egg Cream ruins Book’s moments with the girl; he doesn’t like the dog. One afternoon the dog gets the book muddy and ruins it. The girl is sad and Book is unhappy and fears again that his special relation with the girl is compromised because he was dirty and was no longer perfect. But the next day the girl wakes up happy and optimistic and has a plan. Sitting at her table she measures and cuts and makes a beautiful cover for the book, a jacket of his own.
See the full review on the blog:
https://fromwordstoworlds.wordpress.c...
Book was dreaming of a child to discover and love him, to enjoy his story and make him his favorite book. The story is told from the book’s perspective; it is introspection in the book’s most deep thoughts and fears, something that all books feel. What if I will never be discovered and loved? All books long for readers and for connection.
Then, one day, Book’s worries come to an end and a little girl discovers him. Book is happy but the little girl loves someone else as well. It is her dog, Egg Cream, that can do things a book cannot do. Egg Cream ruins Book’s moments with the girl; he doesn’t like the dog. One afternoon the dog gets the book muddy and ruins it. The girl is sad and Book is unhappy and fears again that his special relation with the girl is compromised because he was dirty and was no longer perfect. But the next day the girl wakes up happy and optimistic and has a plan. Sitting at her table she measures and cuts and makes a beautiful cover for the book, a jacket of his own.
See the full review on the blog:
https://fromwordstoworlds.wordpress.c...
February 10, 2015
Book is a plain book with no jacket. He longs to be picked to be read by a child. That day finally comes and the child loves Book. But the child also loves her dog. Book is jealous of the time the girl plays with the dog. One day, the dog splashes mud all over Book. The girl decides to cover the mud stains by making her own jacket for Book.
The illustrations are a mix of paint, pencil and what looks like crayons. They are often scribbles giving them a childlike and unfinished look which at times makes it difficult to tell what you are looking at.
I loved the beginning of the story. Book had a great and fun attitude. But the jealousy about the dog intruded on the positive feelings and felt out of place. I would have enjoyed the story more if the dog was a friend and Book an enjoyable playmate who did fun and silly things. The last two pages gives instructions on how to make your own book jacket.
The illustrations are a mix of paint, pencil and what looks like crayons. They are often scribbles giving them a childlike and unfinished look which at times makes it difficult to tell what you are looking at.
I loved the beginning of the story. Book had a great and fun attitude. But the jealousy about the dog intruded on the positive feelings and felt out of place. I would have enjoyed the story more if the dog was a friend and Book an enjoyable playmate who did fun and silly things. The last two pages gives instructions on how to make your own book jacket.
June 15, 2020
¡Le daría mil estrellas más si pudiera!
¿Se imaginan nuestros libros cobraran vida? ¡Pues, en los libros esto puede ser real!
Mi amigo Libro, es una historia que nos muestra la vida de Libro, quien esta muy contento de llegar a las manos de quien será su mejor amiga. Ella será quien lo amará, cuidará y acompañará siempre... hasta que se da cuenta que debe compartir a su mejor amiga con ¡UN PERRO!
¿Qué le parecerá a Libro esta idea? ¿Qué pasará luego?
Un retrato perfecto de cómo es la relación con nuestros libros. El amor, cuidado, dedicación y cuánto los disfrutamos siempre. Y cuanto disfrutan ellos de nuestro cuidado, amor y lectura.
Acompañado de unas ilustraciones preciosas, y una maravillosa actividad para crear una hermosa camisa a nuestros libros... Puedo decir que ¡SIMPLEMENTE LO AMÉ!
¿Se imaginan nuestros libros cobraran vida? ¡Pues, en los libros esto puede ser real!
Mi amigo Libro, es una historia que nos muestra la vida de Libro, quien esta muy contento de llegar a las manos de quien será su mejor amiga. Ella será quien lo amará, cuidará y acompañará siempre... hasta que se da cuenta que debe compartir a su mejor amiga con ¡UN PERRO!
¿Qué le parecerá a Libro esta idea? ¿Qué pasará luego?
Un retrato perfecto de cómo es la relación con nuestros libros. El amor, cuidado, dedicación y cuánto los disfrutamos siempre. Y cuanto disfrutan ellos de nuestro cuidado, amor y lectura.
Acompañado de unas ilustraciones preciosas, y una maravillosa actividad para crear una hermosa camisa a nuestros libros... Puedo decir que ¡SIMPLEMENTE LO AMÉ!
December 18, 2014
Age: Preschool-Kindergarten
Book is always passed up at the bookstore by shinier, newer titles. Until a girl finally takes him home. Book is happy but soon finds out that the girl has a slobbery, dirty dog (named Eggcream--points given for originality). When Book fall into a mud puddle, the girl decides to make Book a decorative jacket--the same jacket that is one the book you're reading! A cute tie-in but the story had zero wow factor and the illustrations felt unrefined, and not in a good way. A sweet attempt but a mediocre result.
Book is always passed up at the bookstore by shinier, newer titles. Until a girl finally takes him home. Book is happy but soon finds out that the girl has a slobbery, dirty dog (named Eggcream--points given for originality). When Book fall into a mud puddle, the girl decides to make Book a decorative jacket--the same jacket that is one the book you're reading! A cute tie-in but the story had zero wow factor and the illustrations felt unrefined, and not in a good way. A sweet attempt but a mediocre result.
December 11, 2015
The story has a cute premise of loving a book, and taking care of it. I wasn't a huge fan of the pictures as there were a few that I tried to figure out what was going on in them. Still, it's OK. Not what I'm looking for in storytime. Might be better as a lap-read or read-alone.
November 24, 2014
A book gets dirty, so a girl makes a jacket to (protect? cover the dirtyness?) the book...
I wasn't to keen on it.
I wasn't to keen on it.
November 2, 2015
Cute! I like that the real 'jacket' matches the one in the book!
October 4, 2016
Such a good book! Great for teaching kids about how to make the best of a situation. So sweet!
October 16, 2016
C'est un excellent livre pour enfants. Leur montrer l'importance de l'objet livre, l'amour que l'on peut lui porter tout comme l'amour qu'on peut en recevoir. Mes filles l'ont adoré.
September 29, 2020
My kids LOVED this one!!
February 11, 2017
oor book, no one picks him up because he doesn’t look interesting. He was smart, he was strong and he wanted children to laugh at his stories but he just didn’t feel special. Then it happened, a girl finally picked him up and he thought yes, he “must be the girl’s favorite thing in the whole wide world.” But no, he realizes the girl has a dog which does all kinds of fun things and poor book just sits and watches. The book also had another concern with dog. Dog’s wet and drooling tongue could be problematic should it get close. It’s a warm afternoon and book and girl are enjoying each other’s company by the water, when suddenly they can longer see each other. Mud has covered everything! Girl is upset, book is damaged and dog, he was just being dog. It will be okay eventually but now, they need to work through a few things. The text wasn’t hard to follow and it’s pretty straightforward. The illustrations were very simple and were a mixed media, paints and either pencils or crayons. Dog was either colored pencil or crayons and I wasn’t too keen on that but it will appeal to younger readers. I loved the book cover, it really enforced the message this book portrayed.
July 3, 2024
This cute picture book details the journey of a book that longs to find an owner—and gets more than it bargained for in the process. You can’t judge a book by its cover but funky covers can’t help but draw the attention.
The pictures have the rough look of crayon drawings by eager three-year olds—unsophisticated, scratchy, plain and two dimensional. The book is a blue rectangle with stick arms and legs, the girl is a crudely drawn caricature with dead black hair and an outsized head and the dog Egg Cream is indicated by a flurry of brown straight crayon marks without outlines.
But the story leaps off the page as book strives to cling to the girl even as the dog makes things….difficult. The conclusion of the story takes us full circle as the girl finds a way to protect her precious literary possession with the very covering that lured in the reader in the first place.
This little storybook encourages children not just to enjoy books but to take care of them, too, and that sets it apart from most other kid’s stories about books. I’m sure any adult who wants to start their child(ren) on the road to cherishing books will like this one.
The pictures have the rough look of crayon drawings by eager three-year olds—unsophisticated, scratchy, plain and two dimensional. The book is a blue rectangle with stick arms and legs, the girl is a crudely drawn caricature with dead black hair and an outsized head and the dog Egg Cream is indicated by a flurry of brown straight crayon marks without outlines.
But the story leaps off the page as book strives to cling to the girl even as the dog makes things….difficult. The conclusion of the story takes us full circle as the girl finds a way to protect her precious literary possession with the very covering that lured in the reader in the first place.
This little storybook encourages children not just to enjoy books but to take care of them, too, and that sets it apart from most other kid’s stories about books. I’m sure any adult who wants to start their child(ren) on the road to cherishing books will like this one.
May 17, 2016
This is certainly a different kind of picture book. The first thing I noticed when I picked it up, is the book jacket. Bright yellow paper with child-drawn crayon illustrations, there are two holes cut in the middle and two eyes peaking out. I didn't want to manhandle it too much, because it's a library book, but a peak under this book jacket reveals a plain blue cover with just the two eyes. The story is of a plain blue book that just wants a child to find him and love him. A little girl falls in love with him and takes him everywhere with her. The only problem is that she has a big, messy dog named Egg Cream. He threatens to ruin everything. Kids will have fun reading this book about the creation of the jacket of this book. There is even a set of detailed directions on how to make your own book jacket. I love how this book draws the reader right into the story. You'll never look at a book jacket the same again!
July 4, 2019
Jour après jour, Bouquin attend sur son étagère. Il attend que quelqu'un vienne le réclamer pour enfin passer du bon temps à l'extérieur de la librairie. Et cette histoire d'amour commence avec une petite fille qui le rapporte chez soi. Mais cette dernière a un autre amour dans sa vie, et ce dernier pourrait bien gâcher l'apparence de Bouquin. À moins que la petite fille ait une solution... Un album doux, qui évoque étrangement Le bon petit livre de Kyo Maclear, mais qui n'est pas sans rappeler à quel point la lecture peut être magique pour les enfants, et comment l'objet physique peut tout aussi bien le devenir! En bonus, un petit bricolage pour les enfants à la fin !
March 26, 2019
Este libro es pura magia.
📙
Primero, porque el protagonista es el mismo libro que el lector tiene entre sus manos y, al terminar la lectura, no podemos dejar de pensar que en realidad está vivo, que nos mira y sonríe feliz por haberlo leído.
🖍
Segundo, porque las ilustraciones de Dasha Tolstikova son increíbles y crean una sinergia muy especial con el texto. Los trazos irregulares nos acercan a la inocencia de la historia, el uso de la doble página nos llama a detenernos y adentrarnos en el movimiento de los personajes, los colores nos llenan de alegría.
👧🏻
Tercero, porque al no tener nombre la niña se presta para que el lector asuma este rol, creando más empatía con la historia.
📚
Cuarto, porque al terminar la lectura quedamos más enamorados de los libros y con la certeza de que son amigos incondicionales, pacientes y silenciosos, y que por ello hay que mimarlos, cuidarlos, leerlos.
📙
Primero, porque el protagonista es el mismo libro que el lector tiene entre sus manos y, al terminar la lectura, no podemos dejar de pensar que en realidad está vivo, que nos mira y sonríe feliz por haberlo leído.
🖍
Segundo, porque las ilustraciones de Dasha Tolstikova son increíbles y crean una sinergia muy especial con el texto. Los trazos irregulares nos acercan a la inocencia de la historia, el uso de la doble página nos llama a detenernos y adentrarnos en el movimiento de los personajes, los colores nos llenan de alegría.
👧🏻
Tercero, porque al no tener nombre la niña se presta para que el lector asuma este rol, creando más empatía con la historia.
📚
Cuarto, porque al terminar la lectura quedamos más enamorados de los libros y con la certeza de que son amigos incondicionales, pacientes y silenciosos, y que por ello hay que mimarlos, cuidarlos, leerlos.
April 29, 2015
I just made a book jacket the other day! And it made me so happy! I was a little surprised at how happy it made me, in fact. But now I get it.
Told from the point of view of a book (named Book), all of Book's dreams come true when a little girl picks him up. But what happens when Book is no longer shiny and new? Will the girl still love him? Of course she does — she makes Book a beautiful paper jacket. A scribbly drawing style and zingy colors give this sweet story lots of energy.
Reviewed for the Baltimore Sun, March 2015.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/...
Told from the point of view of a book (named Book), all of Book's dreams come true when a little girl picks him up. But what happens when Book is no longer shiny and new? Will the girl still love him? Of course she does — she makes Book a beautiful paper jacket. A scribbly drawing style and zingy colors give this sweet story lots of energy.
Reviewed for the Baltimore Sun, March 2015.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/...
April 19, 2015
I took me time to warm to The Jacket, but what sold me was the book itself: identical book cover to the one in the story, eyes in the cover, etc. A book with arms, legs, eyes, and mouth is a little creepy, and a jealous book is confusing. But the drawings of the girl, her dog Egg Cream, her world, and especially the 2-page spread of all th dirt that got on the book are very vibrant. I enjoyed Tolstikova's scribbled technique, especially in depicting Egg Cream always in motion, and the blotching with ink (see the dirt page). It feels like there are too many concepts that either need further development or to be combined.
February 8, 2015
THE JACKET by Kirsten Hall, illustrated by Dasha Tolstikova is a personified account of a book and his desire to be loved as all "favorite" books are. But when he finally finds a home, a beloved pet dog threatens his relationship with the book-loving girl. I love the theme of friendship, love, and the care of books! It is original, quirky, and fun. Book's point-of-view makes this an interesting read. In the back of the book, the author includes an activity on How to Make a Book Jacket. It's the perfect gift for the young book lover in your family!
November 29, 2015
I enjoyed The Jacket, by Kirsten Hall, and think that a young reader would too. The illustrations by Dasha Tolstikova are whimsical, especially when Book has trouble in the park. At the very end, a couple of pages are devoted to the activity of making a book jacket for your favorite book. Ms. Tolstikova has provided an illustration to explain the activity. It would've been nice if these pages were a little more developed. Still, it is a terrific book for bringing your young reader along on the journey that is loving books.
January 21, 2018
Three-line review: As a kid who cared deeply about my books, I related to the little girl in this story who bonds with her favorite book. When the book gets dirty, the girl is so concerned about its wellbeing she creates a book jacket -- complete with eye holes -- to protect it from any more wear and tear, which is something I definitely would have done. I love the imperfect imagery, and as a bonus feature, there are step-by-step instructions on how to create a book jacket (complete with eye holes, of course).
December 8, 2014
Book had just about everything a child could want except for a bright and exciting cover! He waits and waits for a child to find him and finally a little girl picks him out and brings him home. Life is good until book meets the little girls dog, Egg Cream. Egg cream is crazy and silly and fun and is always taking the little girl away from their quiet moments. He also gets book all muddy! The little girl is upset but finds a way clean off book and make him extra special.
April 29, 2018
The Jacket is a cute concept book, fun for a read aloud and then a school project. But the story is sort of a one-way road to the end, without a lot of depth to make it into a story that a child would want to read again and again. The illustrations are super fun and appropriate. I loved the page turn in the middle of the book when the dog splatters mud all over the page. The illustrations really win the show, and give this story a mountain of charm.
July 24, 2018
Books about books. One of my favorites. Except this one didn't really resonate with me. A book in the library is desperate to be read, and finally a little girl (and her dog) take him home. The dog of course causes havoc in the book's life. Will they all learn to coexist together? It was cute, my not very memorable. And while the pictures were drawn to emulate little kids drawings, I didn't really like them all that much.
December 12, 2014
The Jacket has so many of my favorite things: a clever, book-loving protagonist; a dog with a cute name; and a book! But books and dogs don't always get along so well, and disaster ensues. But our girl saves the day! With lively illustrations, The Jacket would be fun to share with another book lover.
December 14, 2014
I wonder how the author came up with such an obvious name for a book, "Book" and such an unusual name for a dog, "Egg Cream"? Regardless, the story works.
The illustrations seems a bit hurried, almost reckless.
However, I can't wait to share this with my students and perhaps have them make a jacket for their favorite book!
The illustrations seems a bit hurried, almost reckless.
However, I can't wait to share this with my students and perhaps have them make a jacket for their favorite book!
Read
February 22, 2016 Book is very happy when he is finally found by the perfect child, and delighted to become one of her favorite things, but the girl also loves her dog, Egg Cream, whose clumsiness, messiness, and drool threaten to ruin Book. Includes directions for making a book jacket.
Subject:
Books and reading -- Juvenile fiction
Dogs -- Juvenile fiction
Subject:
Books and reading -- Juvenile fiction
Dogs -- Juvenile fiction
December 31, 2014
Book has a very boring cover. He hopes for the day that a child picks him up and discovers the wonderful things in his pages.
A message to all librarians to get rid of those old horribly boring rebound books with no covers. Without a cover they are just a boring book on the shelf.
On a list of the top picture books of 2014
A message to all librarians to get rid of those old horribly boring rebound books with no covers. Without a cover they are just a boring book on the shelf.
On a list of the top picture books of 2014
April 6, 2015
This is such an adorable meta fiction children's book.... Told from the point of view of a book, whom is owned by a young girl. it soon learns that it must compete for her love with her pet named Egg Cream. Included are some creative instructions on how to make a practical yet beautiful book cover!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 92 reviews