The Best Place to Read

November 18, 2002
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.

May 1, 2003
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 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2003
PreS-Gr. 1. Anyone who, like Goldilocks, has ever had trouble finding a spot that's "just right" will sympathize with the young protagonist of this lively rhyming story. All the boy wants to do is sit down and read his new book, but his old chair is too small, the dog's hogging Grammy's chair, Daddy's chair is underneath a cold-blasting ceiling fan, and Auntie's rocking chair makes him seasick. Where will he go to read? "The backyard is great-- / I can read on the grass. / I'll sit on a patio chair. / It's the sprinklers--OH, NO!--splashing me head to toe, / So now it's too wet to read there." In the end he finds the best place to read of all--Mom's lap. Reminiscent of Daniel Kirk's work, the crisp, comical illustrations, featuring a redheaded boy and his unread book "Silly Bird," are a winning match for this tightly rhymed saga of seeking and finding. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2003
A little boy looking for a place to read auditions many unsatisfactory seats (Grandpas lumpy old armchair, his brother's leaky beanbag chair, etc.) before he finds his mother's lap. The premise is engaging, but it's hard to find some of the rhymes' rhythms, and the feeling of security that the authors are aiming for is undermined by the synthetic quality of the images throughout.

(Copyright 2003 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)