The Book That No One Wanted to Read

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They would also only drop off a case of books and leave us to run it – it was so lovely to have you on hand to chat to the children and recommend them books, as well as the small (but appreciated!

Directly addressing the audience, the narrator waxes philosophical about judging books by covers before plunging readers into a story told in second person about a child who finds “a particular Book That No One Wanted To Read” on a library shelf.This experience has been fantastic primarily for the children, the school and also for me (professionally). Interspersed with imagined, telepathic dialogue between reader and book, this delightfully droll work casually covers everything from footnotes to story structure; information about excess unwanted books being “ pulped” by publishers leads to a gag about the book not wanting to be recycled into toilet paper. Athesius the sorcerer outwits Warthius, a rival trying to steal his spells via a parrot, by casting silly ones in Ig-pay Atin-lay in the third episode, and in the finale, a painter’s repeated efforts to create a flattering portrait of an ogre king nearly get him thrown into a dungeon…until he suddenly understands what an ogre’s idea of “flattering” might be.

I didn’t know anything about him until someone told me that he has other funny books too and I can certainly vouch for that with this one! If there were books we think we could never accept though we have tried reading till the end - maybe we could discuss ways of how they could be better books. Through witty direct address and charming illustrations, readers meet a book that has never been read, with a cover the boring color of a school lunch table and pages so dry they give bookworms indigestion. Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review.I especially love her double page spread Map of the Library, a maze-like illustration of all the nooks and crannies to be found in the library. But this story isn’t just funny—it’s also got a lot of heart, and left me saying aww (in my own heart). You guys were so fab and Dawn was such a lovely presence in the schools - I will absolutely be in touch next time I'm in your neck of the woods. Although it is in a library, it’s secreted away in the Miscellany section for books that ‘ don’t seem to belong anywhere else’. Overall, this has been an entertaining read and I am sure it scores with the children with its fantasy and imaginative storytelling also the funny drawings.