Module 1- Miss Brooks Loves Books (And I Don't)

Summary
Miss Brooks Loves Books (And I Don't) tells the story of a young girl who cannot find any books that interest her.  In complete contrast, and much to the girl's embarrassment, the school librarian, Miss Brooks, is crazy about books.  She turns story time into a real event, complete with costumes and lots of student interaction.  Miss Brooks never tires of trying to find books that will entice the girl to read, but she is never successful.  Finally, the child's mother reads her Shrek, a book about ogres and warts.  The girl is immediately hooked, and cannot wait to reread the book and share it with Miss Brooks as well as the rest of her class.

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

My impressions
I enjoyed Miss Brooks for several reasons.  First, I liked that a librarian was featured so prominently in a picture book, as I haven't encountered this very often.  By making Miss Brooks' character quirky yet endearing, children get a non-traditional view of librarians, as well as an understanding of part of their job-- helping people find interesting books.  I thought it was also a nice touch that the main character didn't quite know what to think of Miss Brooks.  She was a bit put off by her quirkiness and her love of books, especially since she herself had no interest in books whatsoever.  This felt very natural to me.

Another thing that I liked about this book was that the main character was not interested in the same things that other children liked to read about.  No butterflies, fairies, or princesses for her!  This was refreshing to me, and an important message to promote to young children:  that it's okay to be different...and that you will eventually find your thing, even if it takes a while.  Along those same lines, I loved that neither the librarian nor the mom gave up on the girl; they continued to search for books that she might like and to talk to her about the predicament throughout the story.  What a clear way to send the message that reading is important and worthwhile!

Incidentally, my five-year-old twins were not huge fans of this book.  (I thought that I would include their impressions as well, as the book is written for children their age).  They enjoyed the story well enough when I read it to them, particularly the illustrations.  However, they didn't ask to read it again, which is how I know when they have truly enjoyed a book.

Reviews

Hulick, J. (2010). Miss brooks loves books! (and I don't). Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, 63(9), 371. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/223686729?accountid=7113

 

"The first-grade girl who narrates this story is not a fan of the printed page, despite

the best efforts of her enthusiastic school librarian, Miss Brooks, who regularly

dons elaborate costumes and reads the class a dismaying (to the narrator) variety

of books. When our protagonist has to find a story she likes to share with the class

(and wear a corresponding costume) for Book Week, the girl grumpily despairs,

until a comment by her mother (“You’re as stubborn as a wart”) finally leads her

 

to her kind of book: William Steig’s Shrek. Filled with new purpose, the girl happily

practices her presentation, even making stick-on warts for her classmates to

wear, and both librarian and student rejoice at this newly kindled passion for a

book. Head and shoulders above the usual purposive pro-library materials, this

will undoubtedly resonate with children who just haven’t bought into the pleasure

of books yet and also with the librarians or other adults trying to win them over.

Bottner’s comically wry, no-nonsense text (“I ask my mother if we can move to

a new town. My mother says there’s a librarian in every town”) is a stitch to read

aloud. Emberley’s illustrations (drawn with pencil, then scanned and printed onto

watercolor paper and painted with watercolor) are cheerfully casual, with the figures

posed against lots of refreshing white space. The bespectacled girl in her slouchy

striped sock cap, bedraggled brown hair, and overalls is clearly one tough (if short)

customer, while Miss Brooks is a long, tall figure with a riot of sproingy brown hair

(frequently bedecked with theme-appropriate accessories) and colorfully eccentric

costumes. This would make a great beginning-of-the-year class read or preparation

for a Book Week celebration for aficionados and resisters alike. JH"


Lukehart, W. (2010, February 1). [Review of the book Miss Brooks loves books (And I don't)]. School Library Journal. Retrieved from http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com.

"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)."

Suggestion for library use

 

This book would lend itself well to an activity similar to the one in the story-- having Book Week in the library.  As in the story, students could choose their favorite book and present it to the rest of the class in an interesting way, (costumes, reenacting part of the story, etc.).  The librarian could read this book as the lead-up to Book Week as a way of introducing the activities that will take place.  Reading the book would also encourage students to find a book that "fits" them, and to seek help from the librarian if they are having trouble finding that book.