Module 1: Miss Brooks Likes Books (and I Don't)

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

by Barbara Bottner 

Book Summary: First grader Missy's librarian, Miss Brooks, loves books, and she doesn't.  Miss Brooks announces the worst thing Missy could ever imagine, they are going to have book week.  Each child will choose his or her favorite book to share with the class.  While the other kid shave no problems finding a book to share, Missy can't seem to find a books she loves.  Miss Brooks relentlessly tries to find a book that Missy will love.  While Missy and her mom are going through the books Miss Brooks has sent home, Missy discovers that she wants a book about warts.  She finds the perfect book to share with her class Shrek.

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

My Impression:  I give this book an A.  I think author Barbara Bottner and illustrator Michael Emberley were a perfect pair for this title.  I love the story line and Emberley does a great job portraying this story through his funny illustrations.  I personally like this book because I can connect to the librarian who loves books.   The image of Miss Brooks sitting amongst stacks and stacks of books is engrained in my mind and I am envious of this fictional character.  Missy is a character that many students can relate to.  I feel that often times we focus on students or characters that do the right thing.  Not that Missy is doing the wrong thing, but we are focusing on a kid in the library who doesn't like books.  I love the way Miss Brooks doesn't give up on her and recommends book after book after book in an attempt to find the perfect book for Missy.  What a great lesson this teaches our students.  If we keep trying, we will eventually find something we like.

Professional Reviews:

Booklist (March 1, 2010)

Preschool-Grade 2. 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! For Book Week, everyone in class has to bring a favorite story, and the young girl has only grouchy comebacks for the other kids, who enthusiastically share books about trains (too clickety), fairies (too flowery), cowboys (too yuppity), and dogs (too furry). When the librarian sends the little rebel home with a bagful of books, she does not like any of them––until she finds a story about a stubborn, smelly, snorty ogre with warts, William Steig’s Shrek, and that makes her grab more books about ogres, just like her. 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.

Rochman, H. (2010). Miss Brooks love books! (And I don't) [Review of the book Miss Brooks loves books! (And I don't), by Barbara Bottner]. Booklist, 106(13), 78. Retrieved from   http://www.booklistonline.com

Kirkus Review (February 15, 2010)

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 love books! (and I don't). (2010). [Review of the book Miss Brooks loves books! (and I don't), by Barbara Bottner]. Kirkus Review, 78(4), 138. Retrieved from   http://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/barbara-bottner/miss-brooks-loves-books-and-i-dont/

Library Uses:

This would be an excellent book to read to first graders on the first day of library.  I always review the parts of the book (spine, front cover, back cover, title page, and what information you can usually find on the front cover) with each book we read.  After reading the book, have to students identify the characters, setting, problem and solution.  Focus on the fact that it is okay if you don't like books, but this year I would like to help you find a book that you do like just like Miss Brooks helped Missy.  Have the students brainstorm a list of topics they would like to read about this year.  They could either compile a written list or draw representative pictures.  If they get stuck, tell them to draw things that they like and that can help them decide what type of books they might also like.  It would also be fun to tie in a book week like the one that is conducted in the story.