Wednesday, July 4, 2018

Maisy Goes to the Local Bookstore

Maisy Goes to the Local Bookstore. (A Maisy First Experiences Book) Lucy Cousins. 2017. Candlewick Press. 32 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: Today Maisy is going to the local bookstore. She wants to buy a new book.

Premise/plot: In this 'first experiences' book Maisy goes to the local bookstore. (I doubt there'll be a book titled Maisy's First Amazon Order.) She's on a mission: to buy a book for a friend. (She might just buy a few books for herself as well.) While at the bookstore she browses the shelves, reads some stories on her own, meets her friends, listens to a story time, and eats at the cafe within the bookstore. She, of course, BUYS books in the end. Will Tallulah like her present?

My thoughts: Maisy is lucky. She does not have anyone saying: "Are you done yet?" "How much longer are you going to be?" "You've looked long enough."

I'm not sure I buy the premise that this is Maisy's first time in a bookstore. I get that the book is a way to introduce bookstores to a young audience. I do.

I think I do better with Maisy books not in the 'first experiences' series. I tend to over-think these and not the others. Maisy is old enough to live by herself, to go around by herself, to buy things by herself--which means she must either earn money or come from a wealthy mouse family. The idea that this is her very first time in a bookstore--yet she likes to read--seems a bit off.  

For little ones who love Maisy, this one is a good read. It celebrates books and reading.

Text: 3 out of 5
Illustrations: 3 out of 5
Total: 6 out of 10

© 2018 Becky Laney of Young Readers

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