Miss Brooks Loves Books

With the help of Miss Brooks, Missy’s classmates all find books they love in the library—books about fairies and dogs and trains and cowboys. But Missy dismisses them all—“Too flowery, too furry, too clickety, too yippity.”Still, Miss Brooks remains undaunted. Book Week is here and Missy will find a book to love if they have to empty the entire library. What story will finally win over this beastly, er, discriminating child? William Steig’s Shrek!—the tale of a repulsive green ogre in search of a revolting bride—of course!Barbara Bottner and Michael Emberley pay playful homage to the diverse tastes of child readers and the valiant librarians who are determined to put just the right book in each child’s hands.Children's LiteratureAll of her classmates find books they like in the library with the help of the enthusiastic, book-loving librarian Miss Brooks. But Missy, our first-grade narrator, remains unimpressed. As they celebrate books through the seasons and holidays, Miss Brooks keeps trying. During Book Week, when she must share a story in costume with the class, Missy can think of nothing that interests her—except warts. Then her mother reads her Shrek. And she loves it! Her report is a success; Miss Brooks is delighted. Her message is clear: everyone can find something in the library. Missy seems a bit pathetic at first, dumpy, with straggly hair. Miss Brooks is far from a stereotypical librarian, wearing clunky boots and many braids. Emberly pictures them, along with the other book-loving students and Missy's patient, supportive mother, light-heartedly around and across the pages, using pencil, "scanned, then printed ...using waterproof inks, then painted with tube watercolors." What fun to read aloud in the library! Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz