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MY VERY FAVORITE BOOK INTHE WHOLEWIDE WORLD
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Illustrated by MICHAEL ROBERTSON
W elcome to the true story of my life as a reader. The kid in this book is named Henley. But Henley is a version of me.When I was a kid, reading was my biggest challenge. It was the thing that scared me most, because it was such a struggle. In school, when we were asked to do what was called “round- robin” read alouds, my worst nightmare was listening to each student read, knowing my turn was coming. As the book’s passage made its way toward me, my hands would get clammy and my armpits would sweat. Then my heart pounded like a nervous drum. Nothing felt lonelier than being the kid in class who couldn’t read well. Deep down inside, I knew I was as smart as everyone else. I also knew that I really liked stories and the pictures that go with them in some books. Fortunately, through athletic scholarships and people who believed in me, I was able to go to college. That’s where my reading struggles really showed themselves. Trips to the grocery store were stressful because there was so much reading involved in the simple act of buying food. I would misread labels and grab the wrong items. Once, I picked up apple sauce thinking it was apple slices . I didn’t notice my mistake until I got home, realizing that it was my inability to understand the differences in the label wording that caused the mistake. Mishaps like that kept happening. And they showed me that I needed to make an important decision. I wanted to be a better version of me, which meant becoming a stronger reader. I began by practicing reading as much as I practiced football. This meant working at reading just as hard as I worked at sports. The whole thing felt impossible at times. Thankfully, I was surrounded by many caring, patient adults who nurtured me into a reader, especially my mom, who, in my eyes, is a superstar. Mom and others helped me understand that there’s no such thing as a “bad” reader. They showed me that my reading struggles weren’t my fault and didn’t make me a bad person. It’s just the way my brain is wired. I sometimes have trouble with the words on the page. This was all very important for me to come to believe — that I’m not good or bad because of how I read. I also figured out that comparing my way of reading to other people’s is a waste of time. It’s like comparing my name or my smile with someone else’s. These are the things that make me who I am, and that make me special. And it’s why sharing My Very Favorite Book In The Whole Wide World with you is so important to me. — Malcolm Mitchell
To my mom, my very favorite person in the whole wide world. — Malcolm
To my lovely mother, Carmelinda, who always encouraged me to read...and draw! — Michael
Malcolm Mitchell is the founder of an initiative called Read with Malcolm, which introduces book ownership to students and works to improve literacy in schools. Read with Malcolm’s Share the Magic Foundation promotes the benefits of reading to kids in underserved communities. Malcolm lives in Atlanta, Georgia. Born and raised in northern Ohio, Michael Robertson graduated from Bowling Green State University with a degree in painting. He spent ten years as a toy designer and character developer before trying his hand at illustration. His work has appeared on many children’s products, greeting cards, books, toys, and magazines, and has received multiple recognitions from the Society of Illustrators.
Text copyright © 2021 by Malcolm Mitchell • Illustrations by Michael Robertson, © 2021 by Scholastic Inc. All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920 . scholastic and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc. • The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content. • No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012. • This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales
is entirely coincidental. ISBN 978-1-338-74702-7
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 21 22 23 24 25 Printed in the U.S.A. 40 • First printing 2021
Book design by Doan Buu • The text type was set in Rockwell. The display type was set in Loyola Pro. The illustrations were created digitally, using Photoshop with hand-done textures made with ink and pencil.
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MY VERY FAVORITE BOOK INTHE WHOLEWIDE WORLD
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by Malcolm Mitchell illustrated by Michael Robertson
Scholastic Inc.
Hi! I’m Henley.
And this is a story about finding my very favorite book in the whole wide world.
But it wasn’t as easy as it sounds.
Reading can be hard, you know?
Once upon a time, everyone thought I hated to read, but that’s just not true.
In some books the words are too big, the sentences too long, and there are way too many pages.
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In other books the pictures have zero to do with cool things I like, or with what’s inside of me.
I do try, but some books are so giant, if I stood on them, I would turn into a GIANT!
Other books are so boring, I’d rather use them as pillows.
When I’m supposed to be reading homework, I’d rather play football in the backyard.
When I’m asked to read the cookbook to help make dinner, I would rather see how many grapes I can fit into my mouth.
Once, I took a wagon full of books to the town swimming pool to find out how good they could swim.
When I tried to read books about dinosaurs, they made my brain hurt. So I gave the books back to the dinosaurs.
I’ve tried reading books about mountains, pickles, aliens, monsters, cats chasing mice, and mice chasing cats. I even found a book about cats chasing mice up a mountain while aliens eat pickles with monsters, but none of those made reading easier or more fun. But that all changed when Mrs. Joy gave the worst homework assignment ever.
“Find your very favorite book in the whole wide world and bring it to school tomorrow. It can be a book about anything. Just make sure you love it, because you’ll be sharing it with the class.”
The school bell sounded like a hundred horns blowing in my ear. Thinking about the yucky homework assignment gave me a super headache and made my hands sweaty.
Who has ever struggled to find the perfect book? Meet Henley , an all-around good kid who’s never found a book that he truly loves.When he’s supposed to be reading, he would rather do anything else. But one day, he gets the scariest homework assignment in the world: Find your favorite book to share with the class tomorrow.
What’s a kid to do? How will Henley find a story that speaks to everything inside him?
Malcolm Mitchell , Super Bowl champion and literacy crusader, pulls from his own literary triumphs to deliver another hilarious and empowering picture book for readers of all abilities. Through his advocacy and books, like The Magician’s Hat , Malcolm imparts the important message that every story has the potential to become a favorite.
$5.99 US
ISBN 978-1-338-74702-7
50599
Jacket art by Michael Robertson, © 2021 by Scholastic Inc. The edition is available for distribution only through the school market.
9 781338 747027
scholastic.com
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