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Alfred Zector, Book Collector

by Macky Pamintuan
32p. 978-0-06000-581-8.
COPY ISBN
K-Gr 3 A young boy's obsession with collecting leaves the rest of his town without books, as Alfred Zector creates his own lonely, book-filled prison. After spending years and years reading everything he owns, he realizes that something is missing in his life and he begins giving his treasures away. The story ends with the greeting-card phrase, "the best kinds of books are the books that are shared." Straining to make this point interesting, DiPucchio writes in predictable rhyme, which is illustrated with flat, cartoonish artwork. A better choice about what happens when a community's books disappear is Patricia Polacco's "Aunt Chip and the Great Triple Creek Dam Affair" (Philomel, 1996)."Mary Hazelton, Elementary Schools in Warren & Waldoboro, ME" Copyright 2010 Media Source Inc.
Young Alfred Zector nabs every last book in town, leaving the place "quite dullish, plain dreary, and wholly humdrum." Upon completing his collection, an aged Alfred asks, "Now what?" and predictably realizes that something's missing. The lively illustrations make palatable a familiar lesson: "The best kinds of books are the books that are shared."

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