Best Book to Read by Debbie Bertram, Susan Bloom, Michael Garland (Illustrator)

From the Publisher

THE LITTLE BOY who loves to read is back, and this time he and his classmates are visiting a big public library! In their signature catchy, rhyming verse, Debbie Bertram and Susan Bloom give readers a taste of the variety of books that can be found at the library. Michael Garland’s bright, graphic illustrations bring to life the array of fantastic and hilarious scenes that can result from finding the best book to read!

Children's Literature

It is time for the class trip to the library. Having already elaborated on The Best Place to Read and The Best Time to Read, the creators of those books now take us along to find the best book. In rhythmic verses the librarian welcomes the students, then introduces them to some exciting book possibilities on subjects like outer space, knights and dragons, bug collecting, dessert recipes, dinosaurs, dogs, and magic tricks. The children then line up for library cards, having chosen their books. Back on the bus they go, recalling, "…a good book is a friend./ Now we all have the best book to read!" Garland's characters have large, round, almost toy-like heads. They serve as an attractive audience for the book talks. Full-page illustrations from the books discussed add considerably, as do the author's names: Lance O'Lot for one about knights; Professor Barker about training dogs, Rocky Rocket's Blast Off, Harry Huckster's magic tricks. The illustrations are detailed: the bugs look like photographs, the dragon's many scales are daunting, dogs and rabbits have a three-dimensional quality. Silhouettes of storybook characters march across the end pages. The slight story may be a bit pedantic but the visuals are worth investigating. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz

School Library Journal

K-Gr 3- Welcomed by an enthusiastic librarian, students on a field trip are introduced to many books and genres: "Picture books, chapter books, books that pop up,/nonfiction and fairy tales, too./You may look by yourselves./Take some books from the shelves./Then check out the best book for you." An illustration of the librarian sharing a book faces a picture of kids imagining themselves in a scene from it. For example, the one on space exploration inspires children to imagine themselves in a rocket ship; one about entomology shows them thinking about collecting and studying bugs in the wild. Computer-generated illustrations have clean lines and numerous details that stand out in a 3-D effect. Characters are round-faced and distinctive. Rhyming is effective and natural, and the rhythm, while occasionally forced, moves the story along at a pleasant, steady pace. This will be a teacher/librarian favorite, joining this team's The Best Place to Read (2003) and The Best Time to Read (2005, both Random) and providing many opportunities for discussion.-Lee Bock, Glenbrook Elementary School, Pulaski, WI

Kirkus Reviews

In Bertram and Bloom's rhymed tale, a librarian introduces a troop of youngsters to books on all sorts of subjects-exploration, science, cooking, pets-that the illustrations interpret by transporting a couple of youngsters into a representative scene. The librarian holds up a cookbook by Martha Muffin on the left-hand page; the full-bleed image on the facing page depicts three of the kids baking a cake, and so on. Garland's distinctive artwork is well known by now, with its combination of soft and sharp elements, its cutout feel and subtle warping. The illustrations' good cheer complements the feel-good message well, although the product-placement of his books irks, even if intended as tongue-in-cheek. The uneven text, however, hurts the most, some of it rolling along, some of it an off-beat mouthful: "Here's a book about being a trainer. / ‘Sit!' ‘Stay!' and ‘Play dead!' / ‘Do not jump on Mom's bed!' / Training dogs will become a no-brainer." This well-intentioned celebration of reading is not, alas, the best book for the job. (Picture book. 3-7)

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