School Library Journal Review
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).-Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public Library (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Book Week is looming, and the young narrator of this biblio comedy couldn't be less enthusiastic-every book in the library strikes her as mild-mannered mush. Her opinion of the titular librarian is even less charitable: a hippie dippie-looking literary cheerleader, Miss Brooks has no compunction about donning ridiculous costumes (including a hilarious Very Hungry Caterpillar) to whip kids into a reading frenzy. "I'll never love a book the way you do," the girl tells Miss Brooks. But that's before she discovers a modern classic that tickles her gothic tastes-Shrek-confirming Miss Brooks's belief that everyone "can find something funny and fantastic and appalling in the library." The heroine makes an indelible presence: Bottner (Raymond and Nelda) endows her with a voice that drips weltschmerz and recalls a younger version of MTV's deadpan Daria Morgendorffer. Emberley's (Mail Harry to the Moon!) slice-of-life cartooning is funny, empathetic, and of-the-moment. This story should persuade hard-to-please children that the perfect book for them is out there. Ages 5-8. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved