I wish more librarians and volunteers would read this and know that some of us do still treasure the old, old-fashioned, torn & scuffed books... even if they're missing the last page! *Please,* if you must cull, at least offer them at a special sale & (ideally) announce it in your newsletter!

My GR’s friend, Goldgato’s, excellent review of The Lonely Book spoke to me. She wrote, “Children learn to cherish inanimate objects with great love and that especially goes for printed books.” Indeed! I did and still do! As an awkward and sometimes lonely little girl, books were often my truest ‘friends’ and as I’ve gotten older, they have continued to accompany me through good times and the rest. The lovely thing about The Lonely Book is that we get to see things from the perspective of the pe...

I have mixed feelings about this book. As I read it today, I loved it. I love old books, and books in general.But, (view spoiler)[ although there is a happy ending, (hide spoiler)] there is a deep melancholy feel to this book.Also, the story could be particularly emotionally difficult for children who are that the developmental stage of believing their beloved inanimate objects have sentience and feelings. The lonely book does suffer quite a bit. I’d have been quite perturbed and sad if I’d had...

I love the way my three-year-old picks books at the library. She runs at a break-neck pace, pulling anything that looks interesting or has substance (and by "substance" I don't mean it in the metaphorical way, I mean in the "it has mass and can be picked up" sort of way) off shelves and plopping them in the basket below the stroller. I rarely even see what the titles are before we get home. Limiting her to ten books or less is often impossible.Many of these "choices" result in myself being requi...

Wow, wow, wow! Think Corduroy, but about a book. The library book is popular at first, but over time becomes worn and spends more time on the shelf than in the hands of a child. Then, one special little girl finds the library book and falls in love with it and treasures it until a new book catches her interest and she forgets to renew the library book and can no longer find it on the shelves of the library. The girl and the book reunite at the book sale and the happily ever after begins. This st...

Such a cute & lovely stories.. I wish books would talk to us.. would not it be lovely.

This is a unique and thoughtful little story celebrating the love of a good book, libraries, and how books connect people. As a library employee, there were parts that didn't ring true--the book would have remained checked out on the patron's card, even if it was lost, so it's doubtful both the borrower and library staff would have forgotten about it--but overall, it was a sweet and wistful book.

I love this book! It actually brought a tear to my eye! Probably from a sentimental adult point of view because I've recently been going through my personal books I owned as a child. They're well-loved and as I pick each and every one up I can remember the delight I had reading them as a child. This story of the life of a library book touches that part of me and as a professional librarian who takes delight in weeding I began to think sadly about all those books I've removed from the shelves ove...

Children learn to cherish inanimate objects with great love and that especially goes for printed books. Worlds of wonder open to youngsters who can barely fall asleep at night when their books are calling to them. This is the story of one such child and one such book.It was a new book, very popular with the children at the local library. The book was thrilled to find itself placed front and center in the spot where new books were placed. Eventually, as newer books came along, the book found itse...

I love books, I truly do, but I can't imagine a child enjoying this one. It reads like an older adult's nostalgic view of classic books. And really, "a hardworking library volunteer?!?" I do not dispute that library volunteers work very, very hard, but using that clunky language in a children's book? So the volunteers are the ones to blame for the book being mislaid? Not a favorite.

The magic of imagination and love of reading is captured here in Kate Bernheimer’s The Lonely Book with such warmth, light, and love. A treat for readers of all ages to experience.I believe books find us in life. When we need them, words and stories find a way to our hearts. Over the years, books have crossed my path with just the right magical mix of words, fun filled adventure, or soul soothing message just when I craved a laugh, distraction, or helping hand. Pure reading kismet!This tale hold...

I may or may not have teared up when I turned to that final page and saw that beautiful illustration. As a book freak I had to love this one and feel the angst and love of the main character (a well loved book). Of course, this makes me want to run to the library and save all of the lonely books but, alas, I am only one person and can only save so many books. Sigh.

I'm so glad that my friend, Alyson Beecher, introduced me to this little gem about a girl named Alice who "adopts" a lonely book. When they part ways--as often happens with our books sometimes--she goes to try to find it again.I guess this story resonates with me because I spent some time last year trying to identify a book from my own childhood. With some searching, I was able to find the very edition I had as a nine-year-old living in n. Michigan.Librarians especially will love this little boo...

This beautifully written picture book is perfect for all book lovers. The story is written from the point of view of a beloved children's book. When it was brand new, it was placed in the front of the library with other new books. It was very popular and many children checked it out. As time went on, the book became old and worn and fewer kids even looked at it. Then a little girl came and fell in love with it. But once the book becomes separated from her, it seems as if it'll never find love ag...

This is the book for all my coworkers who do not want to get rid of that last tattered copy of that book they loved when they were a child, because it keeps checking out--even though it is missing a whole page and the pages are torn, and it may have been out in the rain, or under a chair. Well this book has a happily ever after for them--sadly if I was that librarian I probably would have discarded the book with the missing page when the page first was torn out.

Bernheimer has written the ultimate "good fit" book tale. If it is all about relationships, she captures a great story about a lasting relationship between a book and a young girl that ebbs and flos (a little like the Velveteen Rabbit and Edward Tulane). Reading teachers should have it on their shelves. The illustrations are by Sheban who did the cover for Because of Winn Dixie.