A Passion for Books: 35 Children's Books about Reading, Libraries, and Librarians

from Hands Around the Library: Protecting Egypt's Treasured Books.

1. Abouraya, Karen Leggett. (2012). Hands Around the Library: Protecting Egypt's Treasured Books. Illustrated by  Susan L. Roth. New York: Dial.
2. Asim, Jabari. (2012). Fifty Cents and a Dream: Young Booker T. Washington. Illustrated by Bryan Collier. New York: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.
3. Bradby, Marie. (1995). More Than Anything Else. Illustrated by Chris K Soentpiet. New York: Orchard Books.
4. Bunting Eve. (1989). The Wednesday Surprise. Illustrated by Donald Carrick. New York: HMH Books.
5. Brown, Monica. (2011). Waiting for Biblioburro. Illustrated by John Parra. Berkeley, CA: Tricycle Press.
6. Ferris, Jeri Chase. (2012). Noah Webster and His Words. Illustrated by Vincent X. Kirsch. New York: HMH Books.
7. González, Lucía. (2008). The Storyteller's Candle/La verlita de los cuentos. Illustrated by Lulu Delacre. New York: Lee & Low Books.
8. Grimes, Nikki. (2013). Words with Wings.Honesdale, PA: Wordsong.
9. Henson, Heather. (2008). That Book Woman. Illustrated by David Small. New York: Atheneum.
10. Hest, Amy. (2007).  Mr. George Baker. Illustrated by John J. Muth. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.
11. Hopkins, Lee Bennett. (2011). I am the Book. Illustrated by Yayo. New York: Holiday House.
12. Houston, Gloria. (2011). Miss Dorothy and Her Bookmobile. Illustrated by Susan Condie Lamb. New York: HarperCollins.
13. Jeffers, Oliver. (2007). The Incredible Book Eating Boy. New York: HarperCollins.
14. Joyce, William. (2012). The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. Illustrated by William Joyce & Joe Bluhm. New york: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.
15. King, M.G. (2010). Librarian on the Roof: A True Story. Illustrated by Stephen Gilpin. Morton Grove, IL: Albert Whitman & Co.
16. Lewis, J. Patrick. (2005). Please Bury Me in the Library.  Illustrated by Kyle M. Stone. New York: HMH Books.
17. Millen, C.M. (2010). The Ink Garden of Brother Theophane.  Illustrated by Andrea Wisnerski. Watertown, MAL Charlesbridge.
18. Miller, William. (1997). Richard Wright and the Library Card. Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie.New York: Lee & Low Books.
19. Mora, Pat. (2000). Tomás and the Library Lady. Illustrated by Raul Colón. New York: Dragonfly.
20. Olson, Kay Melchisedech. (2006). Johann Gutenberg and the Printing Press. Illustrated by Tod G. Smith. Graphic Library.
21. Pinborough, Jan. (2013). Miss Moore Thought Otherwise: How Anne Carroll Moore Created Libraries for Children.Illustrated by Debby Atwell. New York: HMH Books.
22. Polacco, Patricia. (2012). Thank You, Mr. Falker. New York: Philomel.
23. Polacco, Patricia. (1996).  Aunt Chip an the Great Tipple Creek Dam Affair. New York: Philomel.
24. Robertson, Bruce. (1999). Marguerite Makes a Book. Illustrated by Kathryn Hewitt. Los Angeles, CA: Getty Trust Publications.
25. Rosenstock, Barb. (2013). Thomas Jefferson Builds a Library. Illustrated by John O'Brien. Honesdale, PA: Calkins Creek.
26. Rumford, James. (2012). From the Good Mountain: How Gutenberg Changed the World.  New York: Flash Point.
27. Ruurs, Margriet. (2005). My Librarian is a Camel: How Books are Brought to Children Around the World. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills Press.
28. Salas, Laura Purdie. (2011). BookSpeak! Poems about Books. Illustrated by Jossee Bisaillon. New York: Clarion.
29. Schotter, Roni. (2006). The Boy Who Loved Words. Illustrated by Giselle Potter. New York: Schwartz & Wade.
30. Stewart, Sarah. (2008). The Library. Illustrated by David Small. New York: Square Fish.
31. Vaughn, Marcia K. (2003). Up the Learning Tree. Illustrated by Derek Blanks. New York: Lee & Low Books.
32. Walter, Mildred Pitts.  (2005). Alec's Primer. Illustrated by Larry Johnson. Middlebury, VT: Vermont Folklife Center.
33. Winter, Jeanette. (2010). Biblioburro: A True Story from Colombia. New York: Beach Lane Books.
34. Winter, Jeanette. (2005). The Librarian of Basra: A True Story from Iraq. New York: HMH Books.
35. Winters, Kay. (2006). Abe Lincoln: The Boy Who Loved Books. Illustrated by Nancy Carpenter. New York: Aladdin.

In Praise of Librarians: A Collection of Books Made In their Honor

Gloria Houston’s (2011) new picture book, Miss Dorothy and Her Bookmobile opens: “When Dorothy was a young girl, she loved books and she loved people, so she decided that she would become a librarian.”

The opening captures easily what I have known to be true about all librarians: their love of books is only overshadowed by their love of people.  In this collection of recommended texts, librarians figure largely. As a child visiting in the country, I can recall waiting with my mother for the bookmobile.  The sound of tires crunching on gravel signaled its arrival. At home, our town's library was housed in a restored Victorian--a place we went to at least twice a week, if not more often.  I can still recall sitting at a tall window with a pile of books at my feet, waiting for my mother to finish browsing. My childhood was formed and informed by libraries and kind librarians, especially my mother who volunteered as a librarian's assistant at an elementary school. It was she who inspired me to love books, simply by sharing the habit of reading and the habit of visiting public libraries.

Librarians are often characterized as being seemingly quiet, yet we well know that they are the insistent force for social justice in our local communities, bringing opportunity to people who in other circumstances would not be privileged.  They are the very people who understand the importance of public libraries to a democracy and fortunately for all us, they are well organized and work to secure our rights to uncensored reading. From very celebrated librarians such as Pura Belpré (The Storyteller’s Candle/La cvelita de los cuentos) to less known ones, librarians are our neighbors, friends, spouses, siblings, parents and teachers. They stand for others, encourage all, and place into hands--young and old--possibilities.

This blog post is dedicated to librarians in our lives who have made and continue to make critical differences. I urge all to look carefully at proposed local, state, and federal budgets to make sure public libraries in towns, cities and schools are funded.

Mary Ann