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

From the Publisher

A determined boy tries to find the perfect place to curl up with his new book in this hilarious and heartwarming story. From bedroom to den, from kitchen to backyard, our eager reader dodges his baby sister's messes, a lawn full of spraying sprinklers, and more—all in a quest for the best place to read!

The bouncy rhymes of authors Debbie Bertram and Susan Bloom and the vibrant artwork of bestselling illustrator Michael Garland capture a child's delight in a paperback edition.

Publishers Weekly

Eager to read his new book, the narrator of Bertram and Bloom's frolicsome debut just can't find the right spot to read. "I love Grammy's soft, cozy chair./ But so does old Rover. I tell him, `Move over,'/ But he won't make room for me there." The bean bag chair springs a leak, the backyard sprinklers drench him, and a wayward spring in "a lumpy and bumpy old chair" shoots him up "so high in the air." Finally he finds "the best place to be, just my book, Mom, and me"-his mother's lap. Except for a handful of awkward verses, the bouncy rhymes accentuate the slapstick and capture the boy's eagerness, frustration and (at last) cozy bliss. Garland (The Mouse Before Christmas) follows the text's light-hearted lead with computer-generated illustrations that recall Toy Story in the sculpted-clay look of figures and objects. The narrator's melon-size head sits atop a diminutive body, and his geometric world sports perfectly round bushes, with vibrant backgrounds featuring strong patterns. But the stylized approach diminishes the tender conclusion: in his mother's lap the boy appears stiff and his expression seems almost vacant. Aside from the chilly visual wrap-up, however, the story should elicit some giggles. Ages 3-6. (Jan.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz - Children's Literature

In brief, rollicking rhymes, our narrator traces his search for the right place to read his new book. He has outgrown his own little chair, Rover won't make room in Grammy's chair, the kitchen table is too sticky, ("my hands get all icky"), the springs are coming through Grandpa's chair, outside the sprinklers are splashing, and so the search goes on. About to give up, he finally finds the best place of all, in Mom's lap, reading together. Garland's animated, doll-like characters, our hero in particular, act out their adventures in very decorative surroundings, amid floral wallpapers and floor coverings, chairs with definite personalities, neatly trimmed trees and shrubs, all settings which add to his quest. Adding to the overall humor is the book, Silly Bird, which he wants to read and is carrying with him, and into which we get only tantalizing peeks. 2003, Random House Children's Books,

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2-A young boy describes his dilemma: he has a new book, but can't seem to find a comfortable and quiet place to read it. Like Goldilocks, he finds various seats too small, too chilly, too wobbly, or already occupied. The singsong verses describe how he rejects one spot after another as a spring in the old armchair comes loose under him, a lawn sprinkler turns on next to him, and his brother's beanbag chair explodes beneath him. The lighthearted artwork has the flat look of computer graphics, and some of the images seem slightly out of focus. Despite a satisfactory ending (the boy and his mother read together in a cozy chair), the overall effect is wearing, as the slight, single-minded plot barely manages to sustain interest. Still, young readers will enjoy exploring the colorful details that fill this child's world. A mixed effort that's mildly appealing.-Kathie Meizner, Montgomery County Public Libraries, Chevy Chase, MD Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

If a good man is hard to find, that’s nothing compared to a good reading chair, as Bertram and Bloom’s youthful protagonist discovers when he goes looking for the right place to read his new book. Using an ear-pleasing rhyme scheme, readers follow the boy from chair to chair as each presents a problem: "A new book for me— / I can’t wait to read! / I run to my own little chair. / I’m growing too tall and the seat is too small, / So I am not comfortable there." As seen through the illustrations, a slick fusion of soft and razor-edged computer images that sport electric coloring and quirky shading, the boy travels through his house, finding each chair encumbered by animals, noise, burst seams, sprinkler systems, disruptive siblings, and wayward springs. But he is a dogged soul, pushing on until he comes to an undeniably fine spot for a youngster to curl up with a book: "The best place to be, just my book, Mom, and me—" It’s a sweet ending, one that avoids being mawkish because it has been so hard-won. (Picture book. 3-6)

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