Books contain countless tales-but what if Book told its own story? From clay tablets to e-readers, here is a quirky, kid-friendly look at the book.

Books are one of humankind's greatest forms of expression, and now Book, in a witty, idiosyncratic voice, tells us the inside story. A wonderfully eccentric character with strong opinions and a poetic turn of phrase, Book tells of a journey from papyrus scrolls to medieval manuscripts to printed paper and beyond-pondering, along the way, many bookish things, including the evolution of the alphabet, the library (known to Egyptians as "the healing place of the soul"), and even book burning. Book is a captivating work of nonfiction by one of England's leading poets.