I Want to Read All the Books

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Author(s)

Debbie Ridpath Ohi

Publisher

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Genre(s)

Age Range

Release Date

September 17, 2024

ISBN

978-1481416306

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An insatiably curious girl decides the only way to answer all her questions is to read all the books in this funny and charming picture book in the spirit of The Library Fish and Tom Chapin’s The Library Book.

Hana wants to know everything about the world around her. When she starts asking questions, her mother gives her a book. She learns so much, but now she has even more questions! She also has a big mission: she will read all the books—every single one! She reads every book in her house…and then her friends’ houses…and then the whole block. Nonfiction, fiction, romance, mysteries, and science fiction.

But when her mother takes her to the downtown library, she realizes there are a lot more books than she thought…way more. Maybe she can’t really read all the books—now what?

Editor review

1 review

Don't we ALL want to read ALL the books?

September 02, 2024

Overall rating

5.0

Plot

5.0

Characters

5.0

Writing Style

5.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

5.0

Hana has a question about the rain one day, and her mother gives her a book that might answer her questions. This opens up the floodgates, and the more Hana reads, the more questions she has. This encourages her to read more and more books! She reads all of the ones in her room, borrows some from her brother (who has the audacity to question her personal cleanliness while she is clearly ON A MISSION), and eventually reads all of the books in her house. This leads her to borrow from her two best friends, Luis and Mahtab, but even those are finished quickly. Her mother takes her to a local bookshop, but declines BUYING all the books. Instead, the two hit the local branch library, but even that doesn't take Hana long to go through the entire collection. Eventually, her mother takes her to a main branch of the library, and Hana is flabbergasted (she's also read the dictionary) by the sheer number of books. She's sad that she can't possibly read them all, but an understanding librarian gives her a couple of different ways to cope. Soon, Hana is recommending books to her mother, putting together a book discussion group, and learning that while she can't necessarily read ALL the books, she can certainly enjoy lots of them, learn from them, and create a community of readers who can share her love of the written word.

Good Points

Well, Hana, it never occurred to me to read ALL the books, although I certainly do try! This reminded me of the time that my younger daughter brought home a worksheet from school where they had to count the number of windows, chairs, and other items in the house. When she came to books, she burst into tears! Young readers who love to be surrounded by books will start this book thinking that they will emulate Hana, and hopefully take away the message that it's not necessary or realistic to read all the books; enjoying the ones you do read is the best way to go.

I can't imagine how much time it took to draw all of the books in this, and there are a couple of clever shout-outs to the author's own titles. My favorite pictures were the ones of Hana's dog; the look on the little dog's face as a stuffed animal was sitting in a chair, and the depiction of the dog reading and joining in Hana's various adventures were delightful. Having small, clever things in the backgrounds to look for can be so much fun when reading along with a younger child.

The message that there is a lot to learn in the world, and that books are a great place to start is a good one that I wish my middle school students had internalized at a young age, and is a great one to deliver to early elementary school students. This would make a fantastic present to a grade school teacher, and would be great to read aloud before a visit to the school library, or if students are lucky enough, a field trip to the public library.

My only quibble is that Hana is reading through the entire branch library pretty quickly; it took me fifteen years to read just all of the fiction books in my school library. This is poetic license, of course, and seeing that Hana also reads the dictionary (raise your hands if this is you!), it's easy enough to forgive.

Bibliophiles love books about books and reading, and this should be at the top of that To Be Read pile that might also include Luna Loves Library Day by Coelho and Lumbers, Moose’s Book Bus by Moore, Miss Brooks Loves Books! (And I Don't) by Bottner and Emberley, and The Highest Mountain of Books in the World by Bonilla.