The Missing Bookshop is a wonderful, heartwarming celebration of the power of stories and the importance of bookshops to a community. Mrs Minty’s bookshop plays an important role in Milly’s life and she is devastated when it closes down. But where has Mrs Minty gone? Can Milly find a way to ensure that the bookshop of her dreams will open again?
The Story: Mrs Minty is the owner of Milly’s local bookshop and she can always recommend the perfect story. But Mrs Minty is getting older and one day Milly and her Mum find that the bookshop has closed. Milly is worried that something awful has happened to Mrs Minty and then a For Sale sign goes up outside the shop. Milly draws a picture of her ideal bookshop and sticks it on the shop. Next day another picture appears then another and it looks like a new bookshop will open…
We love browsing in bookshops and particularly like the individuality of independent bookshops. Mrs Minty has created the perfect bookshop and over her years as a bookseller has amassed an amazing amount of knowledge, she can always find the right book for her readers. She is an important person in Milly’s life and Milly is extremely worried when she disappears. Milly never misses a story time at the bookshop, she even dreams about becoming a bookseller herself.
The easy to read text is highly illustrated to support a beginner reader. We love the way that the illustrations at the beginning of the book show Minty getting older and asking for books on different themes as she grows but our favourite illustrations show all the pictures and messages of support that are stuck onto the bookshop while it is closed.
The Missing Bookshop is a fabulous first reader and has a sturdy hardback cover. It’s wonderful for bridging the gap between longer picture books and early chapter books and the size and the design give it a ‘grown up’ look which can give a beginner reader a huge burst of confidence as they transition to longer texts. It would make a great addition to an Early Years / Key Stage One classroom book box or a home library. It isn’t a chapter book, the story is written in small chunks of text on each page which makes it less daunting for a reluctant or less confident reader.
So where has Mrs Minty gone? Who is the new bookshop owner? We hope you enjoy finding out as much as we did 🙂
Author: Katie Clapham / Illustrator: Kirsti Beautyman
Thank you to Stripes Publishing for sending us a copy of The Missing Bookshop. It’s a fabulous story for little bookworms and we love the Early Reader format.
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