Book Review : If Roast Beef Could Fly by Jay Leno

Jay Leno is well known as the host of The Tonight Show and as a major collector of classic cars but did you know that he has written a children's book too? I have always been a big fan of Jay Leno so when I saw this book, If Roast Beef Could Fly by Jay Leno, at the store, I had to buy it. I didn't even realize that it came with a CD until the next day!

Jay Leno's childrens book If Roast Beef Could Fly is based on Leno's own childhood experience with his father. Leno's father loves to do what he calls "projects," where he takes things apart but then invariably never puts them back together again. One spring day, Leno's father decides that the next "project" will be to build a patio deck and get a rotisserie for some big summer barbecues. "This summer we're going to have ourselves the greatest barbecue ever!" announces Leno's father. The current "project" means a trip to the hardware superstore some sixty miles away because the small one in town was never good enough for Leno's father. Leno's father, who was Italian, always thought and did things BIG and this seems to be a family trait on his father's side.

At the Hardware Supermax, Leno's father found everything he thought he needed. Since it didn't all fit in the car, the store offered free delivery and even said they'd follow them home right then. The illustration shows an entire fleet of trucks driving behind the car which is also piled high with boxes. Weeks go by and the patio still isn't finished but since its the end of summer, Leno's father decides that they will go ahead and throw the biggest end-of-summer barbecue ever anyway!

The day of the party arrives and tons of people come. The giant roast beef is put on the rotisserie and begins to spin and cook. Everyone goes inside the house to help out with all the food and visit while little Jay Leno is outside alone with the roast beef. He is overcome with a strong desire to have some of that roast beef right now as it sizzles and squeaks as it turns on the rotisserie. Then little Jay Leno has an idea and he pulls his secret weapon from his pocket. With that secret weapon, little Jay can just reach the roast beef and pull a tiny piece off for himself. He keeps doing this until suddenly the secret weapon gets stuck in the roast beef! Oh no, he doesn't know what to do so he leaves while his secret weapon melts into the roast beef. I will leave you to guess what the secret weapon was and how it made the roast beef fly.

The illustrations by S. B. Whitehead are both charming and colorful. They are also extremely humorous as they show a little Jay Leno with a big head and that trademark chin on nearly every page. The illustrations on every page show off some funny aspect of the story.

The story is humorously written, which is what you would expect from Jay Leno. And the illustrator is the perfect person to have illustrated the story. Jay Leno and S. B. Whitehead make a good team. Included with the book is a CD where Jay Leno himself reads the story aloud.

I recommend this book to everyone, both children and adults. It's fun to read and look at the illustrations but it's also fun to listen to the CD and follow along with the story!

You can find your own copy of If Roast Beef Could Fly by Jay Leno either new at one of the online bookstores such as amazon.com or find a much lower-priced copy used through one of the online book search services such as bookfinder.com.

If Roast Beef Could Fly
By Jay Leno; illustrated by S. B. Whitehead
Hardcover, 32 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing (March 23, 2004)
ISBN-10: 0689867670
ISBN-13: 978-0689867675
New Price at Amazon.com $14.36