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If Roast Beef Could Fly: Book and CD
Books: CookBooks: Beef: Item 5
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If Roast Beef Could Fly: Book and CDby Jay Leno and S. B. Whitehead
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30 of 39 people found the following review helpful: If Roast Beef Could Fly, Then What Happens to Pigs?, March 26, 2004 Reviewer:priscilla Robichaud "prisrob -modest disciple of manda" (New EnglandUSA) - Jay Leno has written an exquisitely funny book for children of all ages. "If Roast Beef Could Fly" is a story from Jay's childhood. Jay Leno is well known as a stand-up comic and host of The Tonight Show... He has written a semi-autobiography called "From the Chin".. Now, he joins the list of writer's of children's literature. He is a funny man and a wonderfully kind man This is a book for children and for adults. The pictures in this book are replicas of Jay's family. This book is an episode in Jay's life that has come to life in the pages of this book. Jay's father was Italian and his mom of Scottish heritage. As with his stand-up routine, Jay tells us a story about his childhood in detail. A certain episode when his father was using a rotisserie for their beef. Father Leno was an extroverted Italian with a large family. Jay used to love those dinners. Countless dishes of Italian gravy with meatballs, lasagna, noodles with ricotta and so on and on. The entire family would dig in aunts, uncles, cousins, moms and dads. Jay loved to watch his dad coo,k and to watch the roast beef go round and round, and he wanted so much to have a taste of that juicy beef. The only thing he had was his black, plastic comb. He stuck the comb in the beef hoping to garner some juices from the comb. Unfortunately, the comb stuck in the twine that was keeping the beef together, and well, the plastic cooked into the beef. When the beef was done and the family at the table, dad was slicing the roast beef and hit something hard. All of a sudden a large plastic glop fell out. Jay had to be honest and told his dad that this was his comb and the whole story came tumbling out. Dad threw the roast beef out he window, their dog found it and was in dog heaven while he chewed the beef to nothingness. The pictures are priceless as are the expressions on the family's faces. Jay Leno has related a story of a family experience. This is such a hilarious story of his family life. Children can relate so well. A small child getting into trouble, but the lesson is always to tell the truth. Jay has expanded his comic repertoire to children and will they love this book, oh, yes, indeed! Jay leno is a comic who rarely uses offensive language ,and this is the kind of person to write a book for our children and for us.
Product Review
Tonight Show host and bona fide household name Jay Leno tries his hand at writing children's books with this fun embellishment from his own childhood--a story of an effusive Italian father, a stingy Scottish mother, and a rotisseried roast beef gone airborne.
Many celebrities--and even some fellow comedians, like Jerry Seinfeld--have tried to write children’s books in recent years, all with varying degrees of success. Thankfully for Leno, his readily recognizable and affable voice keeps this effort above average, with plenty of help from S.B. Whitehead's playfully busy illustrations. Not unlike a Tonight Show monologue, though, If Roast Beef Could Fly relies more on delivery than substance: Leno’s trademark comedic style comes through clearly (right down to an asterisked aside to the audience: "Kids, don’t try this at home!"), but the story sometimes seems to sputter--albeit in that ingratiating Jay way--from one gag to the next.
Tonight Show fans (and hopefully their kids, too) will surely enjoy this personal glimpse into the late-night king’s early years, especially as Leno reads along with the included audio CD. Plus, If Roast Beef Could Fly also appears to clear up a long-standing question among serious Leno scholars: Yes, even as a child, his chin was just that big. (All Ages) --Paul Hughes
From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3–In this meager offering, a young narrator (a Jay Leno look-alike with short legs) describes his father, who likes to do things in a big way. Dad decides to build a patio complete with rotisserie, and the boy gleefully rides the wave of his enthusiasm. The narrative jumps from buying supplies to the advice of neighbors to the finished project and a final summer picnic. As a huge roast beef spins on the spit and everyone else goes inside, the boy is left alone with the "amazing spectacle." Touching the meat with his plastic comb, he licks the juices off it until it gets caught in the string around the beef and begins to melt. At the table, Dad tries to cut the roast, discovers the plastic, and throws the whole thing out the window, whereby it's caught in a flying leap by the dog. Fortunately, Dad's Italian relatives have brought "several different tons of food" and Dad, undefeated, is already dreaming up his next project. This book is mired in excess. The disjointed text relies on exaggeration to hook readers. Every scene is so over the top both visually and verbally that there's no subtlety of characterization or meaningful introspection. The garishness of the narrative is matched by the full-color, Mad Magazine-like illustrations where people appear as larger-than-life caricatures. Some youngsters may be carried along on the crest of this wave. More insightful readers will recognize the ensuing emptiness. A CD of Leno reading the story is included.–Martha Topol, Traverse Area District Library, Traverse City, MI
Copyright © Reed business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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