Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 4.5
What did you like about the book? Two interconnected stories each tell a tale of surmounting a barrier. In ‘Walter in the World,’ a mouse must get past 26 cats in order to see the beautiful world outside. Initially he is overwhelmed by thinking of the cats as a group, but once he plans his escape by defeating each cat individually, he is successful. Liam has a similar problem in ‘Liam and the Letters’: he cannot make sense of the letters and words in his book. But when he decides to learn each letter one at a time, each of the 26 letters becomes clear and words begin to make sense.
Kids will love how, after reading one story, they can turn the book over and upside down for the second one. The two stories meet in the middle when both Walter and Liam find solutions to their problems. It’s a clever device and a metaphor for the work it takes to decipher letters and combine them to make words. I can imagine reading ‘Walter in the World’ first, and then inverting the book for ‘Liam and the Letters,’ which has shorter sentences in briefer lines and more repetition. Expressive multimedia color artwork makes the reading fun and helps the beginning reader really get the characters’ frustrations. Liam is a brown-skinned boy and Walter appears to be living in the same house, which is a neat convention. I really like how this book covers the feelings around reading, and reduces the big problem to 26 small ones.
Anything you didn’t like about it? No
To whom would you recommend this book? For beginning readers who need a little inspiration, ages 5-9.
Who should buy this book? Elementary school and public libraries
Where would you shelve it? Beginning readers
Should we (librarians/readers) put this on the top of our “to read” piles? Near the top
Reviewer’s Name, Library (or school), City and State: Stephanie Tournas, Robbins Library, Arlington, MA
Date of review: December 31, 2024
