Griselda Snook's Spectacular Books

Reviews / Votes

A boy learns to love reading-with help from a most unusual bookseller.
Henry isn't a book lover. But when he helpfully returns a dropped key to Griselda Snook in time for her bookstore's opening, she invites him in. She puts out a plate of doughnuts, but the plate quickly runs off. Henry chases it to the cookbook section, where he bumps into a Frankenstein's monster in search of a joke book. Griselda makes a suggestion, which Henry tracks down. Together, the two find "exciting," "noisy," and "spook-tacularly silly" offerings for a bevy of ghoulish customers, among them a werewolf, a mummy, ghosts, and a skeleton. But Henry still hasn't found a book for himself. When a volume falls off the shelf and unleashes a dragon, Henry searches for a spell to tame it-to no avail. A witch named Magenta Screech arrives to put things right, tells the bookstore patrons a series of scary stories, and finally hands Henry the perfect tale. The story is slight-and it's never made clear just what makes Magenta's suggestion the ideal offering-but the spooky setting is bewitching, and the sentiments are unimpeachable. Wiry linework and a matte black-and-orange color scheme make the Halloween theme clear, while the assorted monsters are clearly delighted to be here; details will tempt viewers to linger in this bookstore. Henry and Griselda are brown-skinned, while Magenta is pale-skinned; human characters are diverse.
A sweetly spooky tribute to reading and bookshops. (Picture book. 4-8)--Kirkus Reviews


When Henry finds a key on the sidewalk and gives it to its owner, he follows her into a huge bookstore. Griselda Snook's Spectacular Books, which features a vast array of Halloween-themed books and caters especially to Halloween characters, has books for every interest. Despite the variety in choices, Henry isn't convinced that he'll find anything for himself. Could a guest reader at the store, Magenta Screech, have the perfect book for Henry?
Critique: "Griselda Snook's Spectacular Books" by the collaborative team of author/storyteller Barry Timms and artist/illustrator Laura Borio is a welcome and especially recommended pick for family, daycare center, preschool, elementary school, and community/public library picture book collections in celebration of Halloween, bookstores, and books for children ages 3-7. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Griselda Snook's Spectacular Books" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $11.99).--Midwest Book Review