Ruby's Repair Café

by Michelle Worthington, Zoë Bennett (Illustrator)

Ruby loves to fix things, rather than throwing them away. When a shiny new department store opens next door to Ruby's Repair Café, everyone in town soon forgets about fixing things. Ruby becomes sadder and sadder, and the dump behind the town grows bigger and bigger. One night, a storm whips wildly through the town, tossing the trash everywhere and even blowing the roof off Mr. Bigg's department store! But will Ruby be able to fix things and make the town a happy place? This book celebrates sustainability, community, and making small changes with a big impact.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

28 pages, Hardcover

Published March 5, 2024

About the author

My name is Michelle Worthington and I am an internationally published award winning Australian author of empowering picture books for kids of all ages. My goal is to be known for unique, classically elegant and compassionate stories that inspire young children to fall in love with books and reading.

Reviews

[Francesca]

Cute lil children's book about how repairing is better than just buying and buying and buying. Illustrations were great!

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

For years, Ruby and her family have owned a popular repair shop in town. Everyone comes to Ruby to fix broken things and give beloved items new life. However, when a big box department store moves in next door to Ruby’s Repair Cafe, everything begins to change. Instead of choosing to fix broken things, the townsfolk begin throwing items away and buying new replacements, causing the town's landfill to overflow. One fateful day, a storm blows in, causing the kind of damage that helps the town recognize and truly appreciate the benefit of Ruby’s Repair Cafe. This charming picture book is well suited to read aloud sessions for toddlers and preschoolers thanks to its lovely illustrations and succinct text. The imagery showcases Ruby wearing thoughtfully repaired clothing in her workshop juxtaposed against the shiny new objects found at Mr. Bigg’s department store. A diverse cast of characters fill Ruby's world, and their collective acts propel the storytelling. Even the endpapers are carefully crafted to reflect the intent of the book. The narrative is told through brief lines of text that describe a complex story using very few words. In only a handful of pages, this book invites young children to consider the impacts of both consumerism and environmentalism in a fresh, accessible way. This book is a lovely tribute to the power of community in a world that often forgets the impacts trash can have. It is a heartwarming addition to library and storytime collections for young readers.

[V · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ruby's Repair Cafe resonates with this reader. I am in agreement with Ruby - fixing is preferable to replacing. And what a satisfying feeling it is to bring something broken back to life! This powerful picture book with flowing narration and charming illustrations follows what happens to a family repair business when a discount store opens up next door and siphons off customers. In a surprising turn of events, the discount store sustains damage in a storm and Ruby's mindset prompts the community to come together to rebuild. The result is not only a store with more visible character, but also a merger between both businesses. It is a fantastic and unbelievable outcome, but an inspiring one, nonetheless. An aspirational outcome. Ruby's Repair Cafe organically encourages to reconsider the consumerism of today's society. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

[Jared White · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this is a bit idealized and unrealistic, it could be a wonderful book to use on Earth Day or when talking about conservationism vs. consumerism. It offers a few glimpses as to how a big, "everything is cheap" store can change a community in a lot of ways (local businesses close, the dump fills faster because people are buying more and throwing more away, etc.). It does this in a somewhat subtle way and the overall message is of a community coming together (and the owner of the big store being willing to work with, rather than against, his new neighbors...helped by the fact that they came to his aid). Besides those positives, the illustrations are very cute as well.

I think this could work in a lower or upper elementary storytime.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ruby’s family prided themselves on fixing what was broken. Their little shop was the busiest in town. From sewing clothes to fixing toasters, where there was a will there was a way.

The one day a brand new department store opened next door. Everything was shiny and new and before Ruby knew it, the repair shop was going out of business. No one wanted to fix things when they could buy another one.

This made the town dump get bigger and bigger with everyone just throwing stuff away. When a huge storm comes and the town gets destroyed, Ruby comes up with a plan.

An important lesson for all about trying to keep and repair what you have. Just a small but valuable step in helping our planet.

[Bailey Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ruby's Repair Cafe by @michelle.author @zoebennettillustration is a fascinating, beautiful, needed, powerful, and heartfelt story! I love the message of this book. The themes of sustainability, diversity, grit, and community, and kindness are phenomenal! Ruby is truly an inspiring character. Despite the fact her family's Repair Cafe nearly goes of business due to Mr. Bigg's shiny new store, she still chooses to help him in his time of need. In the book the entire town experiences growth and transformation.

[Nichole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would definitely pair this with Mr. Bell's Fix-It Shop!

[Sara Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute story about how being new might be nice but it is also good to fix what we already have. I really enjoyed how everyone was working together to improve the community.

[Awjtf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book!