The Favorite Book

by Bethanie Deeney Murguia

From the author-illustrator of Do You Believe in Unicorns? comes a sweet, colorful celebration of how we choose the things we love best.

Have you ever thought about how your favorite things became your favorites in the first place? Sometimes picking a favorite can be easy: you know from the moment you see it. And sometimes, selecting one can take a little longer as you consider all the options. The choice is yours: you can have many favorites or none at all. You might even find that your favorite changes. From colors to animals to the perfect hat, there are so many things to love . . . and even help you learn a little about yourself in the process. Playful and thought-provoking, this cheerful rhyming story encourages young readers to reflect on how they make decisions and pick their own favorite -- or two.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Love, Storytime, Animals

32 pages, Hardcover

Published October 8, 2019

About the author

Bethanie Deeney Murguia earned an MFA in Illustration from the School of Visual Arts. Bethanie lives with her family and her forty pound lap dog, Thunder, in the San Francisco Bay Area. She has created numerous picture books and is currently working on the WAGNIFICENT early middle grade graphic novel series and a middle grade graphic novel for Candlewick Press.

Reviews

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

First sentence: How do you choose a favorite, a best?

Premise/plot: Don’t let the title confuse you. This book is not about having a favorite book. I repeat it is not about books or reading. It is an abstract concept book about having favorites. It encourages readers—potentially of all ages—to think about the subconscious process of having favorites, of choosing or preferring this to that. Why do you love what you love? How does something become your favorite? Is there a science to it? It is both simple, kid-friendly and complex. The text is simple enough in its rhyming that readers can enjoy it and interact with the book—the illustrations and text. But it can also be read at a much deeper level.

My thoughts: I definitely have favorites. Favorite authors. Favorite illustrators. Favorite subjects. Favorite genres. Favorite hobbies. Not to mention more obvious favorites—favorite foods, favorite drinks, favorite people. I have never really thought much about how or why. I am not sure that it’s necessary to do so...but it can be fun.

I really enjoyed the text. It was great that it works on multiple levels. I thought it was fun and playful.

I definitely enjoyed the illustrations too.

Text:4/5
Illustrations:4/5
Total:8/10

[Juli Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the way each spread encourages kids find their own preferences. The illustrations are classic and there's much fun to be had here.

[Mr. Cody · Rating 5 out of 5]

More like a 4, but imma give it a 5! Try and stop me

[Neha Thakkar · Rating 5 out of 5]

What makes a favorite? Would be great for making choices for check out

Pair with Not Enough Lollipops/Maynor?

[Sarah Threlkeld · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was confused because I thought this was about a favorite book, but it's really about the concept of having favorite things. Sweet illustrations.

[Joanne Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

This picture book is a little didactic and thin. The rhyming text starts well but could use some tightening at the end. I loved the concept and the art beautifully expanded the story, introducing a cast of characters with individual personalities. A fun read.

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enlightening book on the critical thinking process of making choices, and what those decisions can lead you too. Sometimes the choices come easy, and some take considerable time and effort.

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is full of questions and pondering about how we
pick favorites. Bikes, colors, dogs, trees, desserts, hats, reptiles, musical instruments,, plants, people- the illustrations contain lots of collections. The simple rhyming text poses lots of questions. What are your favorite things, and why? Do you pick a favorite quickly or after much thought? But there are some profound insights here too. Sometimes our favorite things connect us to a loved one. Our favorites- our choices, including the people we decide to hang out with- become part of us and our path, and there are always more favorites to discover.

[Stephanie Croaning · Rating 4 out of 5]

Children are fascinated by favorites! What is your favorite (fill in the blank) is a common question they will ask upon meeting someone new. With rhyming text, this book explores the idea of favorites, and how there are many different ways to find a favorite.

Sometimes you know right away, other times you can't pick just one favorite, and sometimes favorites change. These are good ideas for young children to hear and think about, and can open up discussions about accepting other people's feelings, even when they do not match up with yours.

[Esutterlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Story In rhyme, but not forced.
Goes through the common dilemma -- as children and adults are often asked, what is your favorite ... (color, book, craft, sport, thing you did today, etc.)
This book affirms that favorites may be influenced by others, but are chosen individually for different, personal reasons, and may change. Acknowledges that we don't always have favorites.
I see so many ways we can talk about this book in storytimes or individual reading; it will be one of my new FAVORITES to Recommend.

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

In picking up this book, I thought it would be about a book, that is a favorite.
It's about favorites in general.
How do you pick a favorite, it really isn't easy.

"Maybe you'll realize your favorite is...NONE! Or what if just one couldn't possibly do?"
"A favorite can be a way to connect."
"Some favorites choose us..."

Favorites are important!
"The favorites we pick, the choices we make, become part of us and the path that we take."

"And always ahead, more favorites await, Wonders to find, and to create."!

I borrowed this book from the Queen Anne Branch of Seattle Public Library.

[Tori Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so good!! I came across this at work and thought I'd flip through it for a moment, expecting a cute little picture book; but instead found a sweet, touching rhyme about choice and preference and love, packed with surprising emotional depth in such few pages. It's the first picture book I've come across in a long time to make me wish I still worked at the bookstore, just so I could get a chance to read this at storytime.

[Lynne Vanderveen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book for creating interactive reading with a child or a story time group. It talks about things that are your favorite from colors and foods to pets and activities. As you read, the book will automatically spur discussion of what their favorites are and how different people like different things and that it would be boring if we all liked the same stuff. Fun for story time!

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

When people ask me what my favourite book is, I generally name at least five. How do we pick them? What if they change? What if you can't decide? This playful and thoughtful book is short on words but big on ideas. The illustrations will lead you into all sorts of discussion if you share it with the family. Recommended.

[Kelly]

This book was really cute. I think it has a lot that kids can talk about while reading the book and open discussion to our favorites of all things. There are some funny parts like a spread of sweets and then some grapes. The cover is busy but the inside pages are not.

[Monique · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bright, fun and catchy rhymes make this title about choosing some items over others, like a pet or book or musical instrument. The items we chose can also indicate certain paths we take, developing a love and appreciation for certain areas of interest.

[FM Family · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this only once with my 4.5 year old. She used to really enjoy books like this (e.g 100 Things that Make Me Happy”) but lately is not so into them. Nice colourful illustrations though. We’ll try it again in the future.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars for this unexpected gem

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

How we choose the things we love best.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute and fun

[Marcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

What is your favorite? How can we choose? This book takes a look at what are our favorites in rhyming text. Kind of fun--with easy activity tie-ins for use in class.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice book. Not necessarily a story here, but it's a book that will reach children on their level.

[Kristen Thorp · Rating 4 out of 5]

294/365

[Dest · Rating 4 out of 5]

The rhyming text is great to read aloud and each spread invites readers to choose their own favorites among colors, pets, treats, hats, plants, instruments, and more.

[Debbie Tanner]

A nice story about how we choose our favorites.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely way of tackling choosing favorites; that you can have one, none, or several; and that you can add new favorites to your life. I liked the idea of friendship being like collecting favorites.

[Wylaina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute.

[Miss Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this preschool and up book about favorite items and how we choose them and what they say about us. Simple and meaningful

[Amanda Schwind · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book for a writing lesson to introduce opinion writing! OR us it for a social-emotional lesson about a favorite item!

[Terri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute, fun and good for early readers.