Aunt Chip and the Great Triple Creek Dam Affair by Patricia Polacco

Although this book is a little bit preachy about the "dangers' of television, it does bring focus to the importance of reading. Fifty years after the town of Triple Creek put up the great tv tower; no one knows how to read, save Aunt Chip, the former town librarian who has been in bed since the construction of the tower. When Aunt Chip finds out that no one reads anymore she finally gets out of bed and does something about it. She first teaches her Nephew, Eli, to read, then the rest of the children of the town. The children were so eager to read that they would read any book they could get their hands on, but the problem is that books have found other uses in the past fifty years, including part of the town dam. When Moby Dick is taken from the dam, it bust causing a flood that knocks over the tv tower. Without tv, all the adults become angry, but eventually start reading themselves and the town is forever changed. In all honesty, I don't see reading ever becoming exstinct, but I do understand that tv and other forms of entertainment are more appealing to most kids, so it is important to keep them interesed. I liked the pencil and water color illustrations, but for a book like this I almost feel that they were...too detailed. I don't know that makes any sense, but in anycase that is my opinion. I would probably recomend this book for an in-class read, or something to illustrate the importance of reading.