Sylvia’s Bookshop by Robert Burleigh - ADVISABLE

Sylvia’s Bookshop by Robert Burleigh, illustrated by Katy Wu. PICTURE BOOK/NON-FICTION. Paula Wiseman Book (Simon & Schuster), 2018. $18. 9781481472456

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3), EL - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

This book is told from the point of view of a bookstore located on a cobblestone street in Paris. One day a woman from America came and filled the space with books and gathered writers and thinkers for conversation and socializing. The bookstore recalls conversations between Ernest Hemingway and Gertrude Stein and others. The bookstore also waxes poetic about the power of books. 

I was very interested to learn about this bookstore and the gathering of minds it was. I think this could be used in a high school lesson on literature and literary communities that influenced some of our most memorable books. The illustrations are very aesthetically pleasing and there is even an old photograph of the actual store in the back of the book. The interest from young readers may be limited.    

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher