Willy's Stories by Anthony Browne- OPTIONAL

Browne, Anthony. Willy’s Stories, PICTURE BOOK. Candlewick Press, 2014. $16.99. A monkey named Willy tells readers about all of his adventures when he walks through the doors of the library each week. Each page has a short snippet from a fairly well-known book and ends the with a question, to presumably, encourage the reader to want to find out more. This book takes a lot of background knowledge and experience with a variety of stories to really attract readers’ attention. I think the questions at the end of each story summary actually dissuade readers from continuing with the book, but the sections are so short, it’s a little frustrating to know you’ll turn the page and just hear another short summary with no conclusion. I thought it was really strange that the book never officially says that the place that Willy goes to have his book adventures is the library. It’s just an assumption. K-3, EL- OPTIONAL. Reviewed by Shay, High School Librarian