The Girl Who Hated Books

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

Meena is a young girl whose name means fish, but she is more like a crab
when it comes to books. She refuses to read them and does not even like
to see books in her house. Unfortunately, every room in Meena’s home
is jammed with reading material. There are encyclopedias in front of the
kitchen cupboard and magazines in the fridge. One day, Meena finds her
cat, Max, trapped at the top of the highest stack of books in the house.
When she tries to rescue him, she triggers an avalanche, but not just
books hit the floor. Peter Rabbit, the Big Bad Wolf, and many other
well-known characters tumble out of the books. Suddenly Meena finds
herself surrounded by dozens of literary critters who all want to go
home, and she has to figure out how to get them there.

This highly inventive tale is obviously aimed at the non-Meenas of the
world. Manjusha Pawagi’s prose seems to caress every form of reading
material mentioned in the story. Leanne Franson’s whimsical
illustrations make a book-lover’s hands itch at the sight of a house
jammed full of books. Using humor and imagination, Pawagi even manages
to make the little book-hating Meena likeable. Highly recommended.