Saving Mr. Hatch

Now that her sons are in high school, a reviewer at the Charlotte Observer sorts through stacks of old children's books to see which ones to save and which ones to donate. One keeper is Eileen Spinelli's  picture book Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch. I just found that one buried on our shelves a few weeks ago, and it's already made the Top Ten read-aloud request list. Mr. Hatch lives a humdrum life until he receives a mysterious valentine. I admired the humor of both the writing and Paul Yalowitz's whimsical  illustrations. And the message, which grows naturally from the character-driven story line, is terrific: only connect.

If you live near Charlotte, you'll get a good suggestion of where to donate books, too.

Link: "Books That Once Filled My Tots with Wisps of Wonder" by Jeri Krentz, Charlotte Observer

Comments

[Carrie K.]

My kids and I love this one, too, and we re-read it every year at Valentine's Day.

[Susan]

Hi, Carrie! Mr. Hatch was one of our book-sale finds, so I was happy to discover it on our shelves a few weeks ago. Sometimes I forget what we have!