BOOK REVIEW : HELP WANTED, MUST LOVE BOOKS BY JANET SUMNER JOHNSON

TITLE : Help Wanted, Must Love Books

AUTHOR : Janet Sumner Johnson

GENRE : Children’s Fiction, Graphic Novel, Picture Books

ART BY : Courtney Dawson

AGE GROUP : 4-7 yrs

FBRC RATING : 5 stars

BLURB :

When Shailey’s dad gets a new job, she loses her bedtime reading partner. She immediately starts interviews to fill the position and is thrilled when her favorite fairy tale characters line up to apply. But Sleeping Beauty can’t stay awake, the Gingerbread Man steals her book, and Snow White brings her whole team. Shailey is running out of options. Is bedtime ruined forever? 

FBRC REVIEW :

DISCLAIMER : I received an ARC( advance review copy) of this book for free from NetGalley and Capstone, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you, NetGalley and Capstone for providing me with an e-ARC of this book.

The story is of a young girl Shailey who enjoys her time with her dad and he is her bedtime storyteller. They enjoy stories together and they were happy. After he gets a job he becomes really busy and has no time for bedtime stories anymore. This makes Shailey very sad. But she is not going to give up storytime and so she fires her dad from the position of storyteller and goes about solving her problem. She makes a notice for Help wanted and puts it out. People start pouring in groups and chaos ensues. She attempts to interview each of them and every day has to amend what she is looking for. Until finally she finds the right person for the job.

The story was fun and engaging and entertaining as well. I loved every second of it. The illustrations were wonderful and so vibrant. I loved Shailey so much. She has such a strong personality. She is confident, knows what she wants, very much focused on her goal and has a lot of spunk. I love her energy and her problem-solving mentality as well. She is organized and very aware of her needs as well. The way she fires her dad shows that she is not going to be sitting around and throwing a tantrum but she is going to take action and she is very determined about it. I love her personality and she reminded me of my daughter and her being wise beyond her years.

The characters who come in for interviews were all fairy tale or short story characters. That was not something I expected and the chaos these characters create with their wild behavior is also very well portrayed. I laughed reading the resumes of the applicants and they were witty and a smart move on the author’s part.

Overall the book was funny and amazing. It’s a small fantastical short story in picture book form. I highly recommend checking it out if you have young ones. They will enjoy it immensely. I am hoping to get a copy for myself as well so that I can share it with my kids. I have given the book 5 stars and is one of my favorite children’s books I have read this year.