Horn Book Review
Despite having been adopted by bookstore owners when she was five, eleven-year-old Property Jones is (secretly) illiterate. Fortunately, she is also extremely observant, which enables her to thwart the swindlers who are bent on cheating her family out of the commodious, almost-magical book emporium they've just won in a contest. This pleasant fantasy, enlivened by Bernatene's cartoon illustrations, will engage young book lovers ready to take on denser chapter books. (c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
A foundling thwarts the machinations of two greedy, duplicitous villains.Property Jones was abandoned by her biological parents in a bookshop at 5 and taken in by its owner, Netty, and her son, Michael. From this disconcerting beginning, a whimsical tale unfolds in this British import. Six years (and only a few pages) later, Property, Netty, and Michael enter (and win!) a contest to become the new owners of a well-known "Book Emporium." They barely have time to explore a few of its fantastical rooms before Eliot Pink arrives to dash their dreams, claiming he sold an extremely valuable book to the Emporium's previous owner but was never paid. Undaunted, Property and Michael investigate Pink and his partner, then devise a plan to expose their trickery. Beginning with a section addressed to readers directly and continuing through the third-person omniscient narration, Bishop's tone is warm and confiding. Black-and-white cartoon-style illustrations further illuminate both setting and characters, who are all white. The Room of Ocean Tales, for example, features an enormous glass tank filled with sea life; Pink looks a bit like a vampire while Property is big-eyed and winsome. Some clothing details have an old-fashioned feel while others are decidedly contemporary, an incongruity that suits and amplifies the story's whimsy.Lively writing, broad humor, and a fast-paced plot will capture and keep readers' interest, particularly those who, like the author and her characters, love books. (author Q-and-A) (Fiction. 7-10) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
A girl who can't read saves a wondrous book emporium in this winsome novel. Property Jones was abandoned at the cozy White Hart bookshop when she was five. The kind owner, Netty Jones, and her son, Michael, take her in, but Property never tells them she can't read. The three share a happy but financially unstable life at the White Hart, until they enter a contest and win ownership of the Great Montgomery Book Emporium a massive mechanical bookshop in London with rotating, themed rooms. The Joneses' excitement over the emporium is cut short when they realize they have also inherited a large debt from the previous owner, and the creepy Eliot Pink comes to collect. But clever, observant Property soon discovers a solution. Filled with warmhearted protagonists, a suitably villainous adversary, and a witty third-person omniscient narrator, Bishop's fast-paced story charms and entertains. The emporium itself containing such marvels as a real forest in the Room of Woodland Tales captures the feeling of being immersed in a good book. A funny, inventive tale ideal for booklovers.--Mariko Turk Copyright 2018 Booklist
