Spreading the Love

Hey, hi!

So here I am, a librarian who loves kids’ books, getting
started on telling you about some great new stuff out there for reading. But
here’s the question – what do I start
with?

I have to set the tone, right? This first one has to tell
you what I want you to know – I’m serious about books, but I love a book with a
sense of humour. I love books that will appeal to both parents and kids. I love
the classics, but I want to introduce you to newer stuff that you might not run
into on your own.

So – where to start? What better than a book about a
children’s librarian who loves books and wants to share that love? I’m really
enjoying this one:

Miss Brooks Loves Books! (and I don’t)

by Barbara Bottner,
ill. Michael Emberley

Miss Brooks is, to say the least, passionate about books, and she wants all the students she sees to
find a book that makes them just as exuberant. There is a book for every child,
she believes, even the most biblio-resistant (this is a treasured belief among
us librarian types). Which means that when she meets the child who just isn’t
feeling the book thing, she tries and tries again, until yes!, she scores a direct hit! And she proves herself a librarian
after my own heart – the book she finally uses to win over this girl who
doesn’t want to read about princesses, bears, or caterpillars is a great pick,
a classic with just the right offbeat twist by one of my favourite kidslit
heroes. (You want to know what it is now, don’t you?)

As much as I love a good librarian story, I have to say that
in the wrong hands, this could all be a bit… much. Too cloying, or too
vibrantly enthusiastic, maybe.  After
all, the illustrations are vital to how well a picture book works, and more
than one decent story has been totally ruined by the wrong art. But here?
Emberley’s loose, cartoon-y style captures the kooky, fun side of this, making
Miss Brooks not some sort of noble crusader, but a grownup in touch with her
childish side and not afraid of looking like a goofball in her mission to
infect others with her love of reading. Now that’s my kind of grownup!