Beatrice Doesn't Want to

This book is about an older brother, Henry, trying to get his project finished at the library and his younger sister, Beatrice, not wanting or allowing him to get much work completed because she doesn't like reading or the library. I thought this was a very cute and relatable story. Beatrice is very stubborn and is unhappy about not getting her way, an emotion many readers can probably relate to. Henry is also just trying to get a good grade and complete his work, which is an important lesson for students to respect their classmates and those trying to get work done not to distract them. Beatrice Doesn't Want To also reveals that if you find the right book for you, reading can be a fun and wonderful experience. This is great for those show more readers who think they don't like reading, but just haven't found the right book yet. The illustrations are fun and colorful. The characters in this book are all dogs, so I feel that would definitely appeal to young readers. Overall, I think this was a great read. show less

This book is so adorable! First off I love how the characters are dogs! This book is basically about how Beatrice does not want to go to the library with her older brother. She wants to stay at home and be lazy but her older brother has to write a paper. She ends up going to a reading and loves the book they read. At the end of the book she does not want to leave the library. This is the first book I have read by Laura Numeroff that does not fall into her category of, "if you give a...." books. I definitely enjoyed this book. I loved how Beatrice ended up loving the library and if teaches children that reading is actually fun!

In Beatrice Doesn’t Want To by Laura Numeroff and illustrated by Lynn Munsinger, the themes are related to the saying you never know until you try. The themes are trying new experiences and discovering what you love. Beatrice wanted nothing to do with books at the beginning of the story. However, once she became familiar with something she enjoyed, like roller skating, which was in the book, she loved looking at the pictures and became interested in reading. This can be called reading choice, what children select to read from a variety of books.
The illustrations in this book provided a perfect example of what the story was trying to convey. It shows the emotions of Henry getting annoyed by Beatrice when he is trying to do his report show more on dinosaurs. Another example is when the whole page is taken up by the illustration of the librarian reading to a room full of children including Beatrice. I also love how the illustrations show how Beatrice’s moods change throughout the story.
Children can relate to this book because of the theme that they can have fun trying new experiences. I feel as though childhood is the best to try new things and explore what children do and do not like. Especially in a classroom environment it is important for teachers to help children know what they are interested in reading. show less

"Beatrice Doesn't Want To," is a very cute book. The story takes us through the journey of a little sister who doesn't want to do anything. As the story goes on her brother tries to find things for Beatrice to do while he is working on homework in the library. We see the character change because at the beginning she doesn't want to be at the library, she finds it very boring. When her brother brings her to a reading for small children she isn't happy at first. One book changes Beatrice because she finally finds a connection with a book because it is something that she can relate to. We get to see Beatrice fall in love with reading. I believe the author is trying to teach young children to try new things, just because they don't seem show more like fun doesn't mean that we aren't going to like it. I really enjoyed this book because we got to see Beatrice turn from a negative to a positive person. show less

There are a few reasons why I liked this book. I liked the book because the characters and their actions were believable, and children reading this book could relate to the main character, Beatrice, and her conflict. Beatrice is forced to go to the library with her brother Henry while he researches for a project, but Beatrice doesn’t want to go with him because she doesn’t like to read. One of the other reasons why I liked this book so much is because the beginning half of the book it shows Beatrice being a nuisance to her brother because she is bored and does not want to read. Towards the end of the book, the tables have turned and Beatrice says, “I don’t want to” and won’t put down her book. Her brother then becomes the show more annoyance on getting her to leave.
Building off that, another reason why I enjoyed this book was because I was able to relate to it. When I was younger, I never wanted to read. But just like Beatrice, one single book changed her attitude towards reading and made her love it, just like one book did for me. I thought the message is important for younger kids that don’t really enjoy reading. They just have to give it a try because they never know; they could end up loving reading. show less

I really enjoyed this story that presents to readers the message of being open to trying new things because you might be surprised and find something you love. This message is presented through the story of a little girl who doesn't want to go to the library or read, but then discovers how much she actually likes it. I liked this book so much because of its well-paced, engaging plot and development of the main character, Beatrice, and the emotions she goes through about her adventures at the library. The plot of the story was developed at a good speed that enabled the reader to get involved with the story through its details and dialog between Beatrice and her brother about books and the library. For example through the inclusion of show more several different instances, the reader sees Beatrice no wanting to go to or experience reading at the library, making it so that when she finally does discover she likes books and being at the library, it is more special. Also, the author's use of many different emotions within each character such as being frustrated, annoyed, stubborn, intrigued, and happy creates complex characters whose experiences and reactions add interest to the story. This is shown well through the main character Beatrice, who goes through a major shift in emotions based on her experiences at the library, which makes the reader want to know what the resolution to her grief will be at the end of the story. show less

I enjoyed this book. One reason that I liked this book was because the author used a unique and funny plot to address the topic of reading. The author used two dogs as the main characters going to the library, and one of the dogs hates to read. Which is relateable to a lot of readers, because I myself do not like to read, but the author notes that you can find enjoyment in reading when it is about something you like. I also liked this book because the illustrations helped to tell the story. Such as when the author wrote, "the second day, Beatrice didn't want to go back to the library," and the illustration is of Beatrice pouting not wanting to leave the house.

The main message of this book is that reading is not always bad, but it can show more be fun and enjoyable once you find a book you love to read. show less