Charlie Cook's Favorite Book (Paperback)

~ (Author), Axel Scheffler (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 2–A boy curls up in a cozy chair to enjoy his favorite book, whereupon readers are whisked away on a trip through different types of literature. The story assumes a book within a book format, as a turn of the page takes youngsters inside Charlie's pirate adventure. Here the layout resembles an open novel, with the title Shiver Me Timbers emblazoned across the top. A pirate digs up a treasure chest that contains–you guessed it–a book. Another page turn reveals that it is a collection of fairy tales, as Baby Bear finds Goldilocks in his bed reading his favorite story about a knight and a dragon. This pattern continues until the action returns to Charlie, still in his armchair, now surrounded by all of the characters. The spreads cleverly reflect the featured tales, and the endpapers show all of the volumes lined up on a shelf. Unfortunately, the loosely rhyming text is awkward to read aloud and the transitions often seem forced. Youngsters are ultimately left looking for more substance to accompany Scheffler's humorous, brightly colored cartoons. For a story that celebrates reading, try Michael Garland's Miss Smith's Incredible Storybook (Dutton, 2003), which deftly delivers hilarious, quirky tales.–Jill Heritage Maza, Conn Elementary, Raleigh, NC
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

PreS-Gr. 2. The unusual endpapers for this appealing book show a shelf with 10 books: Shiver Me Timbers, Fairy Tales from a Forgotten Island, and so on. A boy named Charlie Cook reads those books, beginning with a tale about a pirate, who digs for treasure and finds . . . a book about Goldilocks, who creates havoc in the bears' house before retiring to Baby Bear's bed to read . . . a book about a knight, who defends himself from a dragon by reading aloud from a joke book, and so on. The pattern progresses through volume after volume, finally coming full circle in a clever conclusion. Children will enjoy wrapping their minds around both the art and the story as the tale sequences through book after book. Amusing pencil, ink, watercolor, colored pencil, and crayon illustrations make the most of each new setting and cast of characters, while varying page design and type make the volume-to-volume differences more apparent. Great fun. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Puffin; Reprint edition (July 31, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0142411388
• ISBN-13: 978-0142411384
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 8.3 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #51,274 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for Ages 4-6, October 1, 2007

By	Meredith Manning (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Charlie Cook's Favorite Book (Hardcover)

I'm a huge fan of this author/illustrator team, and this book is another great one. The concept is very clever and engaging. I enjoy reading it almost as much as my daughter loves hearing it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Charlie Cook's Favorite Cookbook, March 4, 2009

A Kid's Review

I have 2 boys 4 and 6. They enjoyed this book. The liked The Gruffalo better and so did I but this book was also fun to read.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed, August 10, 2009

By	B. Bell (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Highly recommend The Guffalo and Room on a Broom as stronger picks from this author. Snail on a Tail comes in second place. Low recommendation for The Gaffulo's Child. My child (4 yr old) found Charlies Cook's Favorite Book hard to follow, as did I. I ordered it because of our success with the above mentioned books. We read this one once and it has remained on the shelf since.