Title: I Do Not Like Books Anymore!
Author: Daisy Hirst
Illustrator: Daisy Hirst
Publisher: Walker Books
Genre: Children’s picture book
Book format: Paperback
Sweet Strawberries: 
Description: Natalie and Alphonse really like books and stories. But when Natalie tries reading a book on her own, the letters and words look like scuttling insects, and it seems as if she might NOT like books ANYMORE!
*Free copy provided by publisher for review…
Review: This book is good and interesting as it tackles kids struggles with learning to read. ‘I Do Not Like Books Anymore!’ in paperback is square in shape and a little wider than A4 in size. There are thick matt pages inside filled with colourful illustrations and text. Natalie and her younger brother Alphonse love to be read to by their family, but one day Natalie is old enough to start reading herself and she is excited, but things don’t quite work out the way she had hoped.
I loved the first book ‘Alphone, That’s Not OK to Do!’ by Daisy Hirst and this one is just as good. Natalie is so excited to begin reading but when she tries she struggles to see the words, they just all look like jumbled squiggles. Struggling still she gets frustrated when Alphonse asks if she can read to him and then she declares that she does not like books anymore! This story is one that I’m sure a lot of children can relate to, even if they don’t want to voice it. I wasn’t terrible at reading once I got into it, but I too did struggle with learning to read when I was a child (especially as at the time it was a second language to me). The frustration Natalie shows is something lots of kids will relate to, but of course there is a good ending in this book which eventually leads to Natalie not struggling anymore, or not so much, and it’s a possible idea that can be used to get kids who find it hard, into reading too.
I love the illustrations, they are so vibrant, colourful and so different. I love the way Natalie and Alphonse look, it’s such an engaging style of illustration that many kids might even want to draw Natalie and Alphonse after reading this. I like the little added details in the pictures, the names of some of the books they are reading as well as the names of the books that are created at the end. The pictures are very much like something a child would draw but somehow this just makes it all the more fun to look at – I especially like the detailed picture of everyone on a bus!
I think this book tackles a difficulty many kids struggle with well and even gives a potential idea or solution to help kids learn to read. I like the creative idea on how Natalie ends up larning to read and can’t help but wonder if it would have made me struggle less if I felt more at ease and in control of the stories like Natalie was. This is a really good book and I’d recommend it for the fun story alone, but I’d certainly recommend it for anyone struggling to get kids to learn to read. There is not much text and it’s written in an easy to read way too, so this book itself is a good book to get kids into reading too.
Have you ever struggled to read when you were younger? What books would you recommend to help kids learn to read? Let me know what you think in the comments below 🙂
The Strawberry Post 