You Wouldn't Want to Live Without Books

by Alex Woolf, Jim Pipe, Roger Canavan

What would your life be like if you had to do without all the modern inventions you take for granted? How would you cope without a toilet? Could you get by without electricity? If antibiotics had not been discovered, would you still be alive today? Starting from these thought-provoking questions, each title in the fantastic new You Wouldnt Want to Live Without series takes us on a historical journey. We learn how people really did cope in the past, and how they developed ingenious ways to make life safer and less unpleasant. And so to the futurewhat further changes can we expect to see in our own lifetimes? This brand-new science and technology strand within our internationally acclaimed You Wouldn't Want to Be series features fantastic full-colour cartoon-style illustrations and hilarious speech bubbles, making the books attractive even to reluctant readers.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Picture Books, Childrens, Juvenile, Books About Books, Middle Grade

Library Binding

First published September 1, 2014

About the author

Alex Woolf is a prolific, award-winning author of books for adults and children. In his non-fiction he has written on subjects as diverse as sharks, robots, asteroids, flying reptiles and chocolate. His novels span a range of genres, including crime, mystery, science fiction, historical fiction, steampunk and horror.

Alex is a regular author for Fiction Express, online publishers of interactive stories for schools. Fiction Express is read by more than 150,000 students from 20 countries. Two of his stories have won reader awards. In 2021, he won the prestigious ASE award for his non-fiction book Think Like a Scientist. His horror novel, Soul Shadows, was shortlisted for the Falkirk Red Book Award. Bestselling crime author Peter James described his novel Aldo Moon as “a real delight, witty, ghostly and at times deliciously ghastly”.

Reviews

[Cyndi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although this was an informative book, I’m not quite sure what age group would find it interesting. The pictures would entertain young children but the writing is aimed at an older age group. 🤔🤷🏼‍♀️

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

History is not for the faint hearted as anyone who has read a book from the You Wouldn't Want to Be series. Aimed at elementary school kids, these books will spark their imaginations about how grim and disgusting and hard life could be.

Why I started this book: Every since I was introduced to this series by my friend Kate, I have looked for this series in each library that I've worked at and purchased them when they didn't have them already. I was thrilled that they've started branching out too.

Why I finished it: Fun, quick and I loved the span history from clay tablets to digital tablets and all the formats between.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw this and had to read it. I love this series and am trying to read all of them but this one will probably top the list of my favorites. I work in a public library and have loved reading since my mom read to me as a child. I cannot live without books. It is filled with so many ways we as a people have loved the written word.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

This title is one of the “You wouldn’t want to live without…” series and it is about books. Each chapter consists of one spread that covers topics from earliest writing materials and alphabets to the printing press to paperbacks to modern e-readers and self-publishing. Spreads contain brief informative paragraphs that are accompanied by related captioned cartoons that provide additional information to help readers understand the content. The colorful format is very visual and will attract many youngsters. A lot of history is packed into this compact and appealing read and kids won’t even realize they are learning history. There are also suggestions for interactive activities to expand critical thinking. Endpapers show a timeline of books and “Did you know?” factoids. Back matter includes a glossary, index and a list of the top ten best-selling books of all time. These titles are always informative and worthwhile additions to any library.

[Elizabeth]

This is a kids' book, but I thought it looked interesting. I had come across other books in this series before, but I thought this particular book was one I just had to read.

It traces the history of the book from cuneiform on clay tablets to . . . well . . . a whole different kind of tablet. It's well worth reading, a good book for grade school children. It's also got a decent amount of humor interspersed. All in all, very nice.

[Jennifer Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

I forgot how much I hated history class until I started reading this book! So much information crammed into one book, but it was very informative and interesting which is why I gave it 5 stars. I love that this series has come out to help make children more interested in things. I won't be reading anymore in the series, but I can now say that I have read one when one of my patrons ask :-)

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! With the intent to create lessons, I easily saw where this book can be used to address the history and evolution of books over the last several thousands years! The “you can do it” and “top tip” sections (top right corner) have several ideas for a mini project for students to practice what they’ve learned. Very enjoyable and highly recommended!

[Dna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book about books for kids! It's full of fun historical tidbits about literature, the proliferation thereof across Europe, and the illustrations are fantastic! This book is part of a series, which I'll definitely be exploring.

[Jodie Sovereign · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great series to incorporate some history into our younger readers.

[Melanie]

Highly appropriate given that it's banned books week next week!

[Gretchen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book would be great to use at the beginning of the school year as we talk about different types of books and how great they are. Bringing non-fiction in with the fiction would be a great way to talk about the two different genres looking at a similar topic. We could easily do some compare and contrast as well as look at the differences in text type and text features. These books are entertaining but very good at sharing factual information.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting and informative. I like the upper right corner of each set of pages which include either "How it Works" or "You Can Do It." A fun book to read with kids or by oneself. The Top Ten Best-Selling Books of All Time on page 33 is also interesting.

[The Brothers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dexter (10yo) read. "It was ok. I liked the illustrations. I always like the 'You Wouldn't Want To....' books."

[Abraham Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great children’s book about books,the history of same & potential future of books to boot!

[Jinjin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty fun!

[Evan Afton]

it is interesting of how this books tells us of its origin lol.

[Boghean Daniela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cartea perfectă pentru a fi dăruită unui copil! Aici poate afla într-un mod foarte frumos despre evoluția scrisului și a cărților. Nu este încărcată de informații și e foarte scurtă.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

One cannot deny the appeal of these colorful, humorously illustrated series. This newest addition to the series addresses the ideas of print, writing, books, and the progress of them through the ages. Starting with carving on stone to picture writing on clay tablets and all the way up to today's e-readers, each era is covered.
I think that reluctant and struggling readers will be drawn to these books, but will have difficulty with the wide variety of text features and asides on each page.

[Teri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Typically dry--but you learn just enough not no put it down completely.