I Hate Love Books
MariaJo Ilustrajo
Frances Lincoln Children’s Books

On the last day of term, the girl narrator along with her classmates receives this parting comment from her teacher, “Enjoy your holidays, and don’t forget to read a book!” This girl, we then learn is a total bibliophobe. Nonetheless she’s duly taken to the library but nothing there appeals in the slightest

so it’s left to mum to make the choice for her.

Back home, the girl makes herself comfortable and reluctantly, opens the book. To her surprise, she’s almost immediately drawn into the story, a wonderful adventure story wherein she meets a furry guide

who leads her on a search for special ingredients. And what are these ingredients for? The most powerful of all spells …

If ever a child needs convincing of the magical power of books and stories – give them this, Mariajo’s new picture book that has everything you could want – adventure, magic, a demonstration of the power of the imagination and terrific illustrations with clever colour changes. I love the sneaky insertion of the author’s previous two picture books on the class bookshelf on the first spread, as well as a certain polar bear who, along with several other book characters, appears on the final page. Don’t miss out on the endpapers either. As a life-long bibliophile, I love everything about this story.