“When a boy heads to the study, ordered to ‘think things over,’ he begins a relationship with a book that becomes special to him, even if it has no 'proper jacket.' When the boy—initially sporting a scowl and a slouch—first opens the good little book, Arbona presents a compelling, sequential, aerial view of a sullen child who nonetheless becomes fascinated by reading. Vivid, fantastical artwork augments the ensuing … sentences about book-induced trips to faraway places and varied emotions. As the seasons pass, the book ‘didn't turn him into a bookish boy, or improve his naughty behavior, but it did become a loyal companion.’ At the story's climax—‘The boy lost his favorite book’—the boy seeks help in a crowd of people who appear as bizarre as the creatures in his book, thanks to the bold, colorful, absurdist artwork. It is easy to imagine an actor with an upper-class British accent reading the wryly humorous text: ‘The boy sought help but discovered that very few people have time for a lost book—no matter how good or little it might be.’ The simple plot reaches a conclusion rife with bibliophilic didacticism, but the humor and art along the way create an enjoyable romp. In a decade of de rigueur picture books praising books, it is primarily the artwork that sets this one apart.” — Kirkus Reviews