Module 1 Miss Brooks Loves Books! (and I don't)

Bibliographic Citation

Bottner, B. (2010). Miss Brooks loves books! (and I don't). New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Summary

Miss Brooks is a young librarian who is eager to excite her students about books.  She shares her books all year long dressing up in costumes.  One student does not think she will ever love a book.  Finally it is Book Week.  After much reading at home with her mother, the student finally finds a book she loves to share.  Both agree that there is a book in the library for everyone.

Impressions

Miss Brooks reminds me of Mrs. Frizzell from The Magic Schoolbus books because she is excited about books and dresses up in costumes.  The girl student looks like a kindergartener or a first grader at a beginning reading level looking for a book that they want to read.  But Miss Brooks is patient and gives the girl time to grow and listen to many good books until she finds her favorite.

Suggestions For Use in a Library

1.  Celebrate Book Week at your own library similar to the story.  Children pick a favorite story to share and dress up in costume.  This book could be read prior to the book week to get the children excited about celebrating.
2.  What kind of librarian is Miss Brooks?  Tell how the illustrator help to portray her as a person who loved books.

Reviews

 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.


 PreS-Gr 2 -- 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-clad 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.

Guaranteed to be warmly welcomed by librarians everywhere, this paean to the joys of reading will find an enthusiastic audience among kids and parents as well. The first-grade narrator is clearly an iconoclast--and a curmudgeon. She wears the same scruffy overalls and striped hat (pulled down to her eyes) throughout, turns away from reading circle to pursue her own interests and doesn't even bother with a Halloween costume. She looks askance at Miss Brooks, the tall, lanky (and, in her opinion, overenthusiastic) librarian who dresses up for storytime and urges her listeners to share their favorites with the group. After the narrator rejects her classmates' picks, Miss Brooks sends yet another pile home, with similar results. When her remarkably patient mother opines that she is "as stubborn as a wart," however, a seed is planted. A book with warts (Shrek) is found, loved and shared with great success. Bottner's deadpan delivery is hilarious, while Emberley's exaggerated illustrations, executed in watercolor and pencil by way of computer, bring her charmingly quirky characters perfectly to life. In a word: lovable. (Picture book. 5-8)

Miss Brooks loves books! (and I don't). (2010). Kirkus Reviews, 78(4), 138.