Summary: Missy doesn’t like to read. Miss Brooks, her librarian, tries all kinds
of different books to get Missy excited, but none of them are working. Miss Brooks even dresses up like characters
from the books to get kids excited. It
works for her friends but not for Missy.
When there’s an assignment to dress up like a character from a book and
share it with the class, Missy is disheartened.
She doesn’t relate to any of those princess-y girls in most of the books
for her age. When she learns about
ogres, Missy’s world of reading is finally opened, and she gets excited about
dressing up like an ogre and sharing her story with her class. Impression: I thought this was such a cute book that I
purchased a copy. It’s such a great way
to illustrate my favorite reading quote, “All of my students like to read. Some just don’t know it yet.” Suggestions
for library setting: I used it with
my friend’s reading recovery class, and I plan to use it with the 6th
graders next year as a way to introduce their wacky, book-loving librarian. It’s been a great way to open the idea that
not every book is for every person, but that doesn’t mean we’re going to give
up. We’re going to keep trying to find
the right book until we find something that works.
Bottner,
Barbara, and Michael Emberley. (2010). Miss Brooks loves books: (and I
don't). New York: Knopf.
A first grader
finds her school librarian's passion for books "vexing," to say the
least. The free-spirited Miss Brooks communicates her love for books by
dressing up in costumes ranging from a Wild Thing to Abe Lincoln, but while the
rest of the class participates enthusiastically, the little girl remains
unmoved. She also dismisses her classmates' book choices: "Too
flowery"; "Too clickety." But when her mother brings out a book
about an ogre with warts -- William Steig's Shrek! -- she finally meets a book
she can love. In Emberley's ebullient pencil and watercolor pictures, Miss
Brooks's engaging personality shines through in her colorful clothes and her
wild hair, while the little girl's stubbornness is reflected in her wearing the
same outfit day after day. This celebration of books and the need for kids to
find the right book will make a great story to read during Children's Book Week
-- and every week.
Lempke, S. (2010). [Miss Brooks loves books! (and I don't)]. Horn
Book Magazine, 86(3), 62-63. All children need a librarian like Miss Brooks. Her love for reading flows from every fiber of her lanky, quirky self. When not happily immersed in one of the colorful choices from the mountains of books surrounding her, she is dressed as Babar, a Chinese dragon, or a groundhog-her puppet-clad arm popping through a hole on the page. She shares stories with a diverse group of young people, and all are captivated-except for one. This first-grade narrator believes Miss Brooks is a little too enthusiastic-to the point of being "vexing." During Book Week's student presentations, the overall-cld girl with large, round spectacles and a woolen beanie finds the other kids' books "too flowery. Too furry. Too clickety. Too yippity." When her mother observes that she is as "stubborn as a wart," interest is aroused, Shrek is discovered in the pile supplied by the librarian, and the transformation begins. An ogre costume and stick-on warts for the whole class complete the conversion to bibliophile. Children will delight in Emberley's spirited watercolor and ink renderings of literary favorites from The Very Hungry Caterpillar to a Wild Thing. Bottner's deadpan humor and delicious prose combine with Emberley's droll caricatures to create a story sure to please those who celebrate books-and one that may give pause to those who don't (or who work with the latter).
Lukehart, W. (2010). [Miss Brooks loves books! (and I don't)]. School Library Journal, 56(2), 76.
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