The 5,000 Friends of Veronica Veetch

Gr 1–3—Veronica Veetch knows a lot about the fine things in life, "like operas and oysters and magic gold rings." This leads her classmates to assume that she is a "richy-rich snob," prompting them to exclude and ignore her. Veronica's reaction is not to feel lonely or sad but to invite them all to her house "for tiramisu and a smidgen of tea." Her classmates accept and are shocked when they arrive and discover that Veronica's home is "in shambles, ramshackle and small." Once inside, the kids see "hundreds of books, stacked from ceiling to floor." Hence the source of all Veronica's knowledge. The kids have a grand time reading books at Veronica's house and leave as friends again. However, before long, Veronica is left bereft when she has read all the books (arranged from A to Z by subject) at her house. Her friends swoop in to save the day by introducing her to the library! Surprisingly, Veronica had seemingly never been to a library before. The takeaways are that books and reading are good and bullying people is bad. The illustrations are kid friendly and cartoonish, set against a stark white background. The entire story is told in Seussian rhyme, which comes across a bit forced at times and longer than necessary. While the plot is preachy, predictable, and unrealistic, it may be useful in promoting public libraries and for teachers trying to start a discussion about not making assumptions about people.