Module 1
August 26 - 29
Summary:
Miss Brooks is an elementary school librarian who loves books so much that she wants to share this with all the students in the first grade. However, one small girl resists books as much as possible by listing all the things that are 'wrong' with them. When Miss Brooks gives the students the assignment of dressing up and presenting their favorite book for Book Week, the little girl finally discovers that there really is a book for everyone.
Citation:
Bottner, B. (2010). Miss Brooks Loves Books! (and I don't). New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
My impressions:
I found this book to be a delightful tale of the work of a school librarian. Although I work in a public library, and I don't have an extensive costume collection, I feel that Miss Brooks and I share the trait of wanting to see every child happily paired with a book they can love. The little girl's challenging attitude and resistance to all that is popular with her classmates is very true to the real world of reader's advisory. However, this serves as a great reminder to librarians to keep an open mind and read as diverse a selection of books as possible. You never know when a little girl may come in asking for a book on warts!
I agree with the comments made in the reviews that Bottner's humor and the illustrations by Emberley work really well together to make this a great book for those who love books and those who are reluctant readers.
Reviews:
From School Library Journal:
PreS-Gr 2—All children need a librarian like Miss Brooks. . .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).—Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public Library
Lukehart. W. (2010, February). The Book Review. [Review of the book Miss Brooks Loves Books! (and I don’t), by B. Bottner]. School Library Journal. 56(2). 76.
From Booklist:
A scowling first-grader in spectacles, a knitted hat, and overalls cannot stand her bubbly librarian, who dresses up in costumes for reading circle, where she introduces books about dragons, Pilgrims, presidents, and Groundhogs, even! The cartoon-style illustrations extend the comedy in images of the expressive girl and her librarian, who dresses in wild miniskirts, boots, and flowers and is far from the usual stereotype. Lots of fun for avid and reluctant readers alike. Preschool-Grade 2. --Hazel Rochman
Rochman, H. (2010, March 1). Books for the Young. [Review of the book Miss Brooks Loves Books! (and I don’t), by B. Bottner]. Booklist. 106(13). 78.
Library setting uses:
I think this book would serve wonderfully in a back to school storytime or at any book-themed storytime at a public library. At the conclusion of reading the story, the reader could ask the children what are their favorite books. If costumes are not readily available, it might also be a great idea to use puppets during the telling of tales. And maybe even let the children make their own sock puppets at craft time at the end of storytime.
Another way to use this book in the public library setting would be to have teen volunteers put together homemade costumes for some of the books mentioned in Miss Brooks and have the teenagers put on a special story time during Teen Read Week or during National Library Week. This way the teens can interact with the younger kids and see that it is always going to be okay to love "little kid books" and the children can see that teenagers aren't that scary and they even have some things in common!
No comments:
Post a Comment