B Is for Beer

The cover of this audiobook reads "performed by Laura Silverman," as opposed to "read by Laura Silverman," for a reason: Her cotton-candy voice is full of almost-musical playfulness. It runs the danger of being cloying, but given the uniqueness of the literary device Robbins uses to tell the story, Silverman's tone is strangely appealing: This is a "children's book" seen from the eyes of a precocious kindergartener named Gracie that uses beer as the universal metaphor for life itself. Although this is shorter than much of Robbins's work, he hasn't lost his gift for astute, and somewhat mocking, cultural observations. For instance, this bon mot on the subject of golf: "Golf is like basketball for people who can't jump or chess for people who can't think." J.S.H. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

February 23, 2009
In his “children's book for grown-ups”/“grown-up book for children,” Robbins (Even Cowgirls Get the Blues)
takes readers on a whimsical tour of all things beer, written in the language of a bedtime story. Factoids about everything from how beer is made to the number of gallons of beer sold globally each year (36 billion) are woven into this story about six-year-old Gracie Perkel, who craves time with her beer-guzzling Uncle Moe. When Moe disappoints Gracie, she reaches for a drink and is visited by the Beer Fairy, who flies her through the “Seam” and offers an education about life and, of course, beer. The drive to inform the reader about malt and hops is sometimes relentless, and the language can be frustratingly dumbed-down (“If you're unfamiliar with the word podiatrist
, you're not alone. Fortunately for Gracie , Uncle Moe was quick to define podiatrist
as a doctor who investigates and treats disorders of the feet. A foot specialist”). Still, the premise and execution of this unique book lends itself to moments of real humor.