Children's Literature @ NYPL

Booktalking "The Old Woman Who Loved to Read" by John Winch

There was an old woman who did not like the hustle and bustle of the city. She decided to move to the country for some peace and quiet so that she could find more time to read. She brought with her a lot of belongings, including many cherished books. In the country, she lived on a farm where she had lots of chores, including bottle-feeding a baby goat. The summer was hot and long, the autumn was rainy, and she harvested the fruit and preserved it for the winter. When all of her tasks were finished in the winter, she was finally able to settle down for a good read.

Australian mammals abound in the pages of this book and accompany the old lady on her quest to read and understand books. The woman even made a list of all of the books that she would like to read, and she put a check mark next to each book when she finished reading it. 

The Old Woman Who Loved to Read by John Winch, 1996

The illustrations in this book are intricate and exquisitely beautiful. The author (deceased, 2007) was also an artist/illustrator. I love all of the Australian animals that are clustered around the old woman on the cover. An emu, kangaroo, koala, goose, turtle, mice and pigs surround her. Some of them have fallen asleep on open books while reading them. Animals and books cascade around the reading lady.

I love to read, so this is definitely a book for me.