The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

By William Joyce

Illustrated by Joe Bluhme

This book is absolutely delightful. It's another book about books to help children love books, and I must say, it's working for me! Morris Lessmore loves words, stories, and books. Every day he writes in his own book. I love the wording, so I'm just going to share it with you: "His life was a book of his own writing, one orderly page after another. He would open it every morning and write of his joys and sorrows, of all that he knew and everything that he hoped for."

One day a storm comes and blows everything he knows, even the words in his book, into chaos. Morris Lessmore starts wandering. He meets a lovely lady who lends him her favorite book. The book leads Morris Lessmore to an amazing building that looks and acts very much like a library. Morris Lessmore spends his life among the books, reading and caring for them and sharing them with others. Every night after all his reading was done, Morris Lessmore writes in his own book.

On the day that he fills in the very last page of his own book, he knows it's time for him to move on. The books notice that Morris Lessmore has left something behind: his book. Just then, a little girl comes into the building. She settles down to read the Morris Lessmore's book, and the story ends as it began... "with the opening of a book."

Pardon me in advance for raving. I love this story. I love the author's use of words like 'happenstance,' and 'squadron.' I love the illustrations. Some of them made me chuckle. The illustrator did an excellent job of portraying Morris Lessmore's emotions! I also love that this book not only promotes a love of reading but a love of writing as well. After all, what good is reading if you don't do anything with it? Morris Lessmore spent his whole life with books, but he left something of value behind when he was gone. I don't necessarily think that everyone needs to write, but I love the idea of giving back. Over all The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore is a lovely book that I look forward to sharing with children.

I'd also like to brag up another, older, book by William Joyce. George Shrinks was one of my very favorite books when I was little (yes, it is that old). In the book, George wakes up one morning to find that he has shrunk. I love the pictures in this book, but I love the imaginative aspect of it as well. Little kids will love (if I am any indication) imagining what their life would be like if they were down-sized. The hushed magical wording that I enjoyed while reading about Morris Lessmore is also present in this older book.

Check them both out!

Visit William Joyce online | Visit Joe Bluhm online | MorrisLessmore.com