This Is a Library Book by Joyce Grant, illustrated by Chanelle Nibbelink (Kids Can Press, 48 pages, grades 3-6). This love letter to libraries looks at all kinds of libraries, from early ones to ancient Greece to ones that have served as beacons in such places as Auschwitz and war-torn Syria, to cutting edge institutions that only have digital books or that lend out unusual non-book items (including people!). There are little free libraries that have made banned books available to everyone and a camel library that brings books to kids in Pakistan. And libraries in places like prisons and hospitals bring light to those living through a dark time. Includes a list of libraries mentioned in the book with their websites, a glossary, a bibliography, and and an index.
Reading this book made me proud to be a librarian and really expanded my definition of the library! I loved the illustrations and the fascinating stories of libraries past, present, and future, although I found the text a bit too small and dense (I wish the creators had continued the first pages’ comic book style throughout). But thank goodness the stereotype of the sensibly-shod gray-haired librarian shushing people is being replaced by cool freedom fighters who bring joy and innovation around the world!
The Little Stone Buddha by Grace Lin (Alvina Ling Books, 40 pages, ages 4-8). “The Little Stone Buddha had been lost. He was not supposed to be there.” Surrounded by trash on a city street, the Little Stone Buddha smiles up at the sky, day and night. One day a little girl and her mother walk by. Although her mother tells her not to touch the garbage, the girl pulls out the Buddha and sets him up on a box. Other people see him and start picking up some of the trash around him. A woman brings him flowers; a couple puts an umbrella over him. Little by little, people clean up the area around the Buddha and add plants a mural, and a bench until the dirty garbage dump has been transformed into a beautiful community park. Includes an author’s note and photos about the inspirations for this book: The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton and the Oakland Buddha, a real stone Buddha that helped transform a dumping ground in Oakland, CA.
I found this story delightful and enjoyed the inspiring messages both about a community coming together almost by accident to create something beautiful in their midst and the Little Stone Buddha who smiled at his circumstances whether he was abandoned in a pile of trash or surrounded by flowers and friendly people in a park. I loved how the illustrations gradually transformed from grays and browns to a riot of color.
