THE DAY THE BOOKS DISAPPEARED

Wish fulfillment goes awry when a boy who loves books doesn’t love that his classmates have literary tastes that diverge from his.

Reading is tan-skinned Arnold’s “all-time favorite thing to do.” He’s partial to a book called The History of Flight and can’t understand why his chums in Room 6 prefer books about topics like tomatoes (“Yuck”) and ostriches (“Huh?”). When Arnold wishes that he could “can all the tomato books,” make the ostrich books “fly away,” and so on, the titles vanish from the classroom, as does (oopsie) his treasured The History of Flight. As the kids take turns explaining to Arnold why their chosen books appeal to them, he finally sees the light, and the volumes reappear. Ultimately, Arnold comes to realize that his “all-time favorite thing to do” involves both reading and good company. The book’s premise is a bit wobbly—would a child really be so upset about another kid’s preferred reading material that he would want to eliminate it?—unless, of course, one reads this title as a parable about censorship. Either way, the story is funny and diverting, and its “different strokes for different folks” message comes through loud and clear. Santat’s digitally colored ink-drawn illustrations present a mix of ethnically diverse children with cartoonish facial features. Throughout the story, the kids’ mental pictures of their books’ contents hover enticingly over their heads like borderless thought balloons.

A pleaser about the magic of books.