I got to choose the book from the library for this week's review: The Book No One Ever Read by Cornelia Funke.
The very first page in this book, even before the title page, says "Please write your name in this book and read it until the pages come loose. Leave your fingerprints in it and kiss its pages and fill it with life and memories, for that is what it wants!" Though I don't believe you should write in library books, I love this directive. It reminds me of how tattered my two favorite books from childhood are and how it shows not that they weren't taken care of, but that they were loved and are still loved today.
In the story, The Book No One Ever Read there is a young book who wants so badly to be read. The older books tell him he is silly for wanting to be read, that his pages will get sticky and his binding will break. The young book is not swayed by their admonishment, he is determined to be read. He leaves the shelf and sneaks out of the bookstore where he was kept. The book is found by a young boy who loves him and leaves sticky fingerprints on his pages. The books binding breaks and he could not be any happier.
This book was a great bedtime book. The message was cute and the drawings were engaging. Even my two-year-old, whose interest doesn't last too long, loved the pictures. It was fun being the adult reader and trying to get all the littler references to great works of literature that were throughout the book.
Here are a few other books that we checked out this week:
- Mama Built a Little Nest by Jennifer Ward
- Not Quite Narwhal by Jessie Sima
- If You Ever Want To Bring A Circus To the Library, Don't by Elise Parsley
- Mighty, Mighty Construction Site by Sherri Duskey Rinker and Tom Lichtenheld
My two favorite books whose pages are loose and smeared with fingerprints
- Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
- Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virgina Lee Burton (I still know this one by heart)
