Review of Help Wanted: Must Love Books by Janet Sumner Johnson

Shailey loves bedtime, especially reading with her dad. But her dad starts a new job, and it gets in the way of their bedtime routine. So Shailey takes action! She fires her dad, posts a Help Wanted sign, and starts interviews immediately. She is thrilled when her favorite characters from fairytales line up to apply. But Sleeping Beauty can't stay awake, the Gingerbread Man steals her book, and Snow White brings along her whole team. Shailey is running out of options. Is bedtime ruined forever?

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**My thoughts**
Shailey loves her bedtime stories and especially the special bonding time that she shares with her father as he reads to her every night. But then he gets a new job, and it takes a lot of time away from her. He's constantly busy and simply doesn't have the time to read to her that he once had. So she takes it upon herself to put up a Help Wanted sign, seeking someone new to read her those beloved bedtime stories.

A crazy parade of applicants comes marching through the door, each one more disastrous than the last. Shailey finds herself constantly amending the job description, hoping to find that truly perfect person to read to her. You'll have fun checking out all of these new characters, because you're going to recognize them all.

And then finally the last applicant walks through the door. And he's absolutely perfect. 

I absolutely adored this story. I love the illustrations that show all of the different characters from Shailey's beloved bedtime stories. (See how many you recognize and then go find those books to read!) The resumes at the end of the book also cracked me up.

I love the feelings evoked by the pictures of her curling up with her father in the rocking chair as he reads bedtime stories to her. I have such fond memories of my parents reading to me when I was young. And I love the message that it is sending to parents.

As adults these days, we are getting busier and busier and sometimes forget about the little ones' lives also being affected. It's imperative that we remember those things that are the most important, such as creating those memories of story time, not to mention how important it is to children's language development to be read to on a regular basis. 

Janet Sumner Johnson has hit the ball out of the park with her debut picture book. I give it 5 stars and want all kids to be able to share it with their parents!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me a review copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.