***I Only Like What I Like
by Julie Baer
Reviewed October 1, 2004.
Bollix Books, Peoria, Illinois, 2003. 32 pages.
Available at Sembach Library (E BAE).
Dewey Jackson Braintree-Berg is a kid who only likes what he likes.
For example, he only likes round food in the morning.
“But on Sunday, Daddy and I were making a surprise breakfast for Mommy,
and we measured and sliced and stirred and poured and when we finally opened
up the waffle cooker, out came rectangles! I ate three! And
ten strawberries.”
On each day of the week, Dewey finds another exception to his definite
dislikes, until the end of the week when he discovers that he can sleep
with a shiny new seashell nightlight instead of having the great big, bright
light turned on for the whole, entire night, which he thought was the only
way he liked to sleep.
I like the way Julie Baer captures the authentic voice of a kid with
definite opinions on what he doesn’t like. I’ve known plenty of kids
like that. This is a great book for sharing with them that, sometimes,
that dreaded, disliked thing is not so bad after all.
Copyright © 2004 Sondra Eklund. All
rights reserved.
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Book Reviews
by Sondra Eklund