Picture Book Monday with a review of The Lonely Book

People who don't love books and the written word sometimes find it hard to understand the relationship that we bibliophiles have with our favorite books. These books becomes our friends and we turn to them when life is hard. We cherish them even when they are falling apart and looking rather sad and shabby.

In today's picture book you are going to meet a book that was once loved but is then forgotten. The book becomes lonely and lost.

The Lonely Book
Kate Bernheimer
Illustrated by Chris Shelban
Picture Book
For ages 5 to 7
Random House, 2012, 978-0-375-86226-7
There once was a book that was very popular with the children who came to the library. Even when it was no longer new and was on the shelves instead of being in the new book section, this book was still taken out of the library often.
   Years and years passed and the book wasn’t as popular as it once was. The book’s cover was faded and the last page was missing. One day the book was taken off its shelf and it was dropped in a “dark corner by a daydreaming child.” The librarian failed to see the book and it lay where it had fallen until a little girl called Alice came along. Alice looked at the book and fell in love with it. Even though the book was old, Alice wanted to take it home with her, and that was what she did.
   Alice read the book over and over, and she even shared it with her classmates at school. The book, so long forgotten and lonely, “Had never felt so beloved.” It was happiest when children were reading its story and looking at its pictures. It was happiest when it was with Alice. Then, but sheer mischance, the book got misplaced and it was separated from Alice, which made both the book and the child very unhappy.
   In this splendid picture book we celebrate the love that a child can have for a book. There is no way to predict which book will become a favorite, but once it has been chosen, a book’s child will never forget it. With a wonderful story and delightfully soft and expressive artwork, this is a book that will surely capture the imagination and hearts of many children in the years to come.