15. The Boxcar Librarian by Brianna Lusbuskes

listened on Audible (purchased)

464 pgs. (13:20)

2025
Adult Historical Fiction
Finished 3/31/25
Goodreads rating: 4.17
My rating: 4.5
Setting: Early 20th century Montana

My comments: Three points of view:  1930s Millie, 1920s Alice, 1910s Colette, all coming together in the end.  The story is set in Montana in various small towns and cities.  It is Alice's vision to have a library in a boxcar that travels from lumber camps to mining sites throughout Montana.  Conditions are super hard for the working men, and "the company" is the royal ruler of all.  Colette's father is a miner and a union man. Alices's father is an extremely rich mayor and supporter of "the company."  Millie is an orphan from Texas who now works in Washington DC and comes to observe the group of people that are writing a travel summary for the government.  Once I began to easily tell the three women's voices apart the story became quite fascinating.

Goodreads synopsis:  Inspired by true events, a thrilling Depression-era novel from the author of The Librarian of Burned Books about a woman’s quest to uncover a mystery surrounding a local librarian and the Boxcar Library—a converted mining train that brought books to isolated rural towns in Montana.

When Works Progress Administration (WPA) editor Millie Lang finds herself on the wrong end of a potential political scandal, she’s shipped off to Montana to work on the state’s American Guide Series—travel books intended to put the nation’s destitute writers to work.

Millie arrives to an eclectic staff claiming their missed deadlines are due to sabotage, possibly from the state’s powerful Copper Kings who don’t want their long and bloody history with union organizers aired for the rest of the country to read. But Millie begins to suspect that the answer might instead lie with the town’s mysterious librarian, Alice Monroe.

More than a decade earlier, Alice Monroe created the Boxcar Library in order to deliver books to isolated mining towns where men longed for entertainment and connection. Alice thought she found the perfect librarian to staff the train car in Colette Durand, a miner’s daughter with a shotgun and too many secrets behind her eyes. 

Now, no one in Missoula will tell Millie why both Alice and Colette went out on the inaugural journey of the Boxcar Library, but only Alice returned.

The three women’s stories dramatically converge in the search to uncover what someone is so desperately trying to what happened to Colette Durand.

Inspired by the fascinating, true history of Missoula’s Boxcar Library, the novel blends the story of the strong, courageous women who survived and thrived in the rough and rowdy West with that of the power of standing together to fight for workers’ lives. And through it all shines the capacity of books to provide connection and light to those who need it most.

Poem: The Library by Sara Holbrook

The Library

Take the walk
to the open door,
this is where you
find out more
about the stars,
oceans, quakes
dragons, cars,
cheetahs, snakes,
unicorns, and
jumping beans,
horses, bugs,
and time machines.
From killer whales,
and free-tailed bats
to hammer heads
and kitty cats,
the library has got a book.
Come on in,
take a look.
Learn how to cook
or write a poem.
Read it here
or take it home.
What do you want to learn about?
It's free!
It's here!
Check it out!     
                     Sara Holbrook

72. The Library of Lost and Found by Phaedra Patrick

listened to Chirp/Audio
narrated by Imogen Church
Unabridged audio (10:28)
2019 Park Row
352 pgs.
Adult CRF (British)
Finished 5/1/2020
Goodreads rating:  3.70 - 13,936 ratings
My rating:  3
Setting: Contemporary England

First line/s:  "As always, Martha Storm was primed for action._

My comments:   This book seemed to drag on and on, but that'show I read it, taking at least a month and only reading here and there.  90% of it was really quite depressing for me, a lost life, only coming into her own when she was, what, fifty years old or so?  The story is about a wasted life, though Martha learns to live it in time to appreciate a few good years to come. 

Goodreads synopsis:  Librarian Martha Storm has always found it easier to connect with books than people--though not for lack of trying. She keeps careful lists of how to help others in her superhero-themed notebook. And yet, sometimes it feels like she's invisible.
          All of that changes when a book of fairy tales arrives on her doorstep. Inside, Martha finds a dedication written to her by her best friend--her grandmother Zelda--who died under mysterious circumstances years earlier. When Martha discovers a clue within the book that her grandmother may still be alive, she becomes determined to discover the truth. As she delves deeper into Zelda's past, she unwittingly reveals a family secret that will change her life forever.
          Filled with Phaedra Patrick's signature charm and vivid characters, The Library of Lost and Found is a heartwarming and poignant tale of how one woman must take control of her destiny to write her own happy ending.

Picture Book Biography - Thomas Jefferson Builds a Library by Barb Rosenstock

Illustrated by John O'Brien

2013, Calkins Creek, An Imprint of Highlights, Honesdale, PA

HC $16.95

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  4.23 - 738 ratings

My rating:  4.5
Endpapers:  Solid Rust

1^st line/s:  "Thomas learned to read.  And then, he never stopped.  He sat and he read.  He walked and he read.  Any lying in bed, instead of sleeping, her read."

My comments: The only reason I rated down .5 was because the wonderfully interesting facts and quotes, written in little books placed on different parts of the page, were written in such teeny, tiny font that you almost didn't read them.  They were great, and read well along with the text of the story.  The Author's Note at the end DID address Thomas Jefferson as a slaveholder, which was another positive.  A truly fascinating look at history, and the life and obsession of a favorite politician and historical figure.

Goodreads:  As soon as Thomas Jefferson learned to read, he found his passion: books, books, and more books! Before, during, and after the American Revolution, Jefferson collected thousands of books on hundreds of subjects. In fact, his massive collection eventually helped rebuild the Library of Congress—now the largest library in the world. Barb Rosenstock’s rhythmic words and John O’Brien’s whimsical illustrations capture Jefferson’s passion for the written word as well as little-known details about book collecting. Author and artist worked closely with experts to create the first picture book on Jefferson’s love of reading, writing, and books. An author’s note, bibliography, and source notes for quotations are also included.

PICTURE BOOK - Dreamers by Yuyi Morales

Illustrated by the author

2018, Neal Porter Books, Holiday House, New York

HC $18.99

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  4.66 - 1130 ratings

My rating: 5

Endpapers: interesting....brown wall ?

Illustrations are gorgeous!  This is what she says:  "I painted with acrylics and drew on paper with ink and brushes and a nib-pen that once belonged to Maurice Sendak, given to me by Lynn Caponera.  
To give the book life, I photographed and scanned many things, including the floor of my studio; the comal where I grill my quesadillas; my childhood drawings kept by my mother; a chair; a brick from my house; old walls from the streets of Malinaleo;my hometown of Xalapa, and my house; a metal sheet; traditional Mexican fabrics; crepe, craft, and amate paper; leaves and plants from my garden; an old woven blouse; hand-painted pants I made for my son, Kelly; old wood; water in a bucket; jute twine; a trditional wool skirt from /'Chiapas; Kelly's childhood drawings; my first handmade book; embroidery; and more."

1^st line/s:"I dreamed of you, then you appeared.  Together we became Amor - Love - Amor.  Resplendent life, you and I."

My comments:  Oo la la.  The book is simple, gorgeous, and meaningful, especially in this day of controversies surrounding immigration and immigrants themselves.  Her two-page explanation at the end is wonderful.  This is truly a special book.

Goodreads:  Caldecott Honor artist and five-time Pura Belpré Award winner Yuyi Morales tells her own immigration story in this picture-book tribute to the transformative power of hope . . . and reading. An instant New York Times bestseller!
          In 1994, Yuyi Morales left her home in Xalapa, Mexico and came to the US with her infant son. She left behind nearly everything she owned, but she didn't come empty-handed.
          She brought her strength, her work, her passion, her hopes and dreams...and her stories. Caldecott Honor artist and five-time Pura Belpré winner Yuyi Morales's gorgeous new picture book Dreamers is about making a home in a new place. Yuyi and her son Kelly's passage was not easy, and Yuyi spoke no English whatsoever at the time. But together, they found an unexpected, unbelievable place: the public library. There, book by book, they untangled the language of this strange new land, and learned to make their home within it.
          Dreamers is a celebration of what migrants bring with them when they leave their homes. It's a story about family. And it's a story to remind us that we are all dreamers, bringing our own gifts wherever we roam. Beautiful and powerful at any time but given particular urgency as the status of our own Dreamersbecomes uncertain, this is a story that is both topical and timeless.
          The lyrical text is complemented by sumptuously detailed illustrations, rich in symbolism. Also included are a brief autobiographical essay about Yuyi's own experience, a list of books that inspired her (and still do), and a description of the beautiful images, textures, and mementos she used to create this book.
          A parallel Spanish-language edition, Soñadores, is also available

PICTURE BOOK - Books! Books! Books! Explore the Amazing Collection of the British Library by Mick Manning & Brita Granstrom

Illustrated by Manning & Granstrom

2017, Candlewick Press

HC $17.99

48 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  4.12 - 82 ratings

My rating: 4, interesting and cool

Endpapers: Red

Lots to read and look at!

1^st line/s::  "Welcome to the greatest library in the world!  We're going to take you on an amazing tour of its treasures -- including some that are so rare thay are kept under lock and key!"

My comments:  An easy, interesting nonfiction book for early-middle grades that tells of many of the British Library's major holdings from the earliest ones on to the present.  Interesting and relevant, including many well-known and a few lesser known British authors and writings. Included are early Christian writings, Beowulf, the Magna Carta, Canterbury Tales, Shakespeare, Dickens, Doyle....with a whole lot in between.

Goodreads:  A tiny prayer book carried by a queen to her execution. An atlas so huge that it takes six people to lift it. A handmade gospel hidden in a saint's coffin, and Shakespearean folios so precious they are kept in a bombproof storeroom. From stories of man-eating monsters, brave knights, and wicked witches to tales of lost children, magical creatures, haunted moors, and flying machines, award-winning duo Mick Manning and Brita Granstrom bring to life the extraordinary history of the book through the treasures of one of the greatest libraries in the world: the British Library. 

PICTURE BOOK - The House of Wisdom by Florence Parry Heide and Judith Heide Gilliland

Illustrated by Mary Grandpre

1999, DK Publishing, NY

currently OP

40 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  4.07 - 68 ratings

My rating: 4:  

Endpapers:  peachy/orange

Illustrations:  orangy pastels, no white on the very large pages

1^st line/s: "Over many lands came caravans of camels, six thousand strong, swaying and rocking as the padded single file across the sands and plains on their way to Baghdad."

My comments:  I always get excited when I find a well-written picture book for older kids.  This is certainly one of them.  Based on history, this is the story of 9th century Baghdad and its books, libraries, scholars, and inquisitive minds. I love that it points out that at this time areas to the west (Europe) were basically uneducated and, perhaps, crude.  And when talking about scholars, like Aristotle, coming a thousand years before, the father tells his son, "We are like the leaves of the same tree, separated by many autumns."  What a great quote!

Goodreads:  This is the true story of Ishaq, a young boy in ninth-century Baghdad. And it is the story of the House of Wisdom. More than a house, more than a library, more even than a palace, the House of Wisdom was at the very center of the new ideas that flourished in Baghdad. It was here that thousands of scholars gathered to read, to exchange ideas, and to translate the dusty manuscripts that were brought by camel and ship from all over the world. Ishaq cannot understand why ancient words, words from faraway places, can cause such excitement. Then he embarks on a difficult journey seeking lost manuscripts. But it is what he discovers when he returns that ignites his imagination and changes him forever.Lyrical prose and glorious illustrations capture the splendor of Baghdad when it was the center of one of the world's great civilizations. They tell the story of Ishaq's transformation from a bewildered young boy searching for understanding to a brilliant scholar, the greatest translator of Aristotle, whose work preserved Greek thought for civilizations to come.

PICTURE BOOK - Madeline Finn and the Library Dog by Lisa Papp

Illustrated by the author

2016, Peachtree, Atlanta

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating: 4.45 - 639 ratings

My rating: 5

Endpapers: pale brown

1^st line/s:  "I do NOT like to read."

My comments:  So many people take reading for granted -- forgetting all those who struggle, get frustrated, then give up, only to spend their life thinking they hate to read.  Meet Madeline Finn, who struggles with reading but wants to be a STAR reader. With the help of a super librarian and a reading-to-a-dog program that's currently popular across the country, Madeline Finn's self confidence begins to soar.  This is a wonderful, feel-good book about a young girl, a dog, and reading.  It's special.  It's cute.  It's quite highly recommended.

Goodreads: Madeline Finn DOES NOT like to read. Not books. Not magazines. Not even the menu on the ice cream truck.
     Fortunately, Madeline Finn meets Bonnie, a library dog. Reading out loud to Bonnie isn't so bad. When Madeline Finn gets stuck, Bonnie doesn't mind. Madeline Finn can pet her until she figures the word out.
     As it turns out, it's fun to read when you're not afraid of making mistakes. Bonnie teaches Madeline Finn that it's okay to go slow. And to keep trying. And to get support from a friend.

PICTURE BOOK - Library Mouse: A Museum Adventure by Daniel Kirk

Library Mouse #4
Illustrated by the author

2012, Abrams Books for Young Readers

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  3.57 - 190 ratings

My rating:  3

Endpapers:  red

1^st line/s:  "Late one night, Sam the Library Mouse was hard at work.  His friend Sarah dropped in and asked, "What are you doing, Sam?  Writing a new book?"

My comments:  I love Sam the library mouse, and the first book in this series is still one of my all-time favorites. In this, the fourth book about Sam - book writer and art lover extraordinaire, - he and his friend, Sarah venture next door to the museum.  Here they find that all their preconceived notions about cats being scary are wrong.  The museum cat has created a gallery of paintings depicting animals...like mice!  Sam insists that Sarah bring a journal, even though she doesn't want to, and discovers that it was an excellent idea.  Somehow, the whole journal thing felt a little flat, as did the meeting up of other animals in the museum.  It didn't touch me like the previous titles have. Still enjoyable, though!

Goodreads:  Sam the library mouse and his friend Sarah are off on a new adventure. This time they leave the library behind and go to a museum so Sam can make sketches in his explorer’s journal. Sarah isn’t so sure that explorers have the time or the interest to write in journals. But Sam shows her that a journal can contain anything, from a ticket stub to drawings of cool things like dinosaurs and ancient Egyptian mummies. As they explore the museum, they see all kinds of art and unexpectedly make friends with another artist. The latest book in this bestselling series is sure to entice readers to come along on the museum adventure.

3 PICTURE BOOKS by Mary Murphy

I found all three of these at the Arivaca Library on 10/17/14.  The two librarians there turned me on to Mary Murphy.

Koala and the Flower

2001 Roaring Brook Press

HC & price

28 pgs  (I wonder if the end pages might have been pulled out?

Goodreads rating:

My rating: 4.5

     Badger and Raccoon see things n black and white.  They are always sure they are right.  Little gray Koala isn't sure about many things.  She asks lots of questions.
     What a clever book - and it has all sorts of atrributes!  Two pages of "graphic novel."  The appearance of a LIBRARY and BOOKS!  Two supposed friends who are subtle bullies.  The excitement of watching plants (flowers! grow from seeds with just a tiny bit of nurturing.  SO much to take in - and all of it was wonderful.

I Like It When ...
Board Book - 12 pgs.
1997

I like it when
     you hold my hand
     you let me help    (thank you)
     we eat new things   (surprise)
     we play peekaboo    (b00)
     you tickle me
     you dance with me
     you read to me
     you hug me tight
     we splash about
     we kiss goodnight

Say Hello Like This!
2014, Candlewick
ages 2 - 5
endpapers:  loud and cool - cows and cucks and chiks.

"A dog hello is licky and loud..."  (turn a half page and see what is described  - "a cat hello is prissy and proud"

Such a vibrant story - both in illustrations AND plot.  I'm not a huge animal person, but the front and back endpapers are just wonderful.

PICTURE BOOK - Miss Moore Thought Otherwise - Jan Pinborough

How Anne Carroll Moore Created Libraries for Children
Illustrated by Debbie Atwell

2013, HMH Books for Young Readers

HC $16.99

40 pages

Goodreads rating: 4.18

My rating: 5
Bosler Memorial Library, Carlisle PA

Endpapers: Bright Pink

Title Page: One page has a 3-inch long elongated oval with illustrations, founts of different colors

Illustrations: Some in ovals, some whole page, some partial page - acrylic on paper.
1^st line:  "Once in a big house in Limerick, Maine, there lived a little girl named Annie Carroll Moore.  She had large gray eyes, seven older brothers, and ideas of her own."

My comments: I especially love picture book biographies for kids. This one gives just enough information to properly introduce Anne Carroll Moore and the historical perspective that before the turn of the 20th century, kids weren't even allowed to ENTER a public library.  This notion alone will interest kids. And it was all new information for me - I didn't have a clue about her or the history that's shared in this story. Another great picture book find for intermediate grades. (And the added bonus that it took place, in part, in MAINE!)
     There are excellent examples of using repetition in text.

Goodreads: Once upon a time, American children couldn’t borrow library books. Reading wasn’t all that important for children, many thought. Luckily Miss Anne Carroll Moore thought otherwise! This is the true story of how Miss Moore created the first children’s room at the New York Public Library, a bright, warm room filled with artwork, window seats, and most important of all, borrowing privileges to the world’s best children’s books in many different languages.

Return of the Library Dragon - Carmen Agra Deede

illustrated by Michael P. White
2012, Peachtree Publishers
Ellsworth Public Library
32 pages
Hardcover $16.95
Goodreads:
cag:  4 stars
Title Page:  yellow dragon-y front on light blue, with dragonflies fluttering
front:  "Librarian Retires" news article
1st line/s:  "Sunrise Elementary School had a BIG problem:  their beloved librarian, Miss Lotty, was....../....RETIRING.

What happens when a tried & true librarian's job is taken over by a guy who gets rid of all the books and replaces them with technology?  The beloved librarian disappears and a dragon taker her place.  This book reinforces the idea that BOTH have their place and they can work TOGETHER.

When I was checking out new-to-me books at the library I almost put this one back until I spotted the 40+ quotes on the endpapers.  I was hooked!

"A book is a friend; a good book is a good friend.  It will talk to you when you want it to talk, and it will keep still when you want it to keep still; and there are not many friends who know enough to do that."  - B. A. Billingsley

"The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them."  - Mark Twain

"Books are companions, teachers, magicians, bankers of the treasures of the mind.  Books are humanity in print."  - Barbara W. Tuchman

"When I discovered libraries, it was like having Christmas every day."  - Jean Fritz

"My library was dukedom large enough."  - William Shakespeare

"When I get a little money I buy books; and if there is any left, I buy food and clothes."  - Erasmus

"I cannot live without books!  - Thomas Jefferson

"Never judge a book by its movie."  -J. W. Eagan

POETRY - Please Bury Me In the Library - J. Patrick Lewis

illustrated by Kyle M. Stone

2005, Gulliver Books

Goodreads rating:  4.03

My rating:  3.5

32 pages, 16 poems

Endpapers:  Pale yellow

Illustrations:  Cover the page from edge to edge with color (though many facing pages, with the poem, are on white. Acrylic paint and mixed media.

16 poems about the library, and books.  Many are based on poems of others (similar rhyme, rhythm).  Of them all, the two following most speak to me...I really love "Acknowledgements"

Necessary Gardens

Libraries

Are

Necessary

Gardens,

Unsurpassed

At

Growing

Excitement.

Acknowledgments

Whose book this is I hardly know,

Considering the debt I owe

To Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear.

To X. J. K. - a toast (root beer)!

To Shel and Jack, and Myra Cohn,

Who always give this pup a bone.

To those word wizards I've left out,

The only thing to do is shout:

Who book is this?  The bottom line . . .

It's partly theirs.  It's partly mine.

65. A Discovery of Witches - Deborah Harkness

Viking, 2011
43 chapters, 580 pgs.
HC $28.95
for: adults
Rating:  5 (I really don't want to give it a 5, but it was lovely writing, a hard-to-put-down plot and storyline, characters that were so well defined I felt as if I knew them,  and a strong, smart, librarian/scholar protagonist.  Everything I love in a book.  And I loved this book.....)

First line/lines:  The leather-bound volume was nothing remarkable.  To an ordinary historian, it would have looked no different from hundreds of other manuscripts in Oxford's Bodleian Library, ancient and worn.  But I knew there was something odd about it from the moment I collected it.

Setting: Contemporary Oxford, for the first third of the book; in the countryside near Lyon, France for the second third; and upstate New York for the third third.
OSS:  Diana Bishop, a noted American historian and college professor who has always tried to ignore her roots as a witch, becomes involved with a vampire while trying to unravel the secret of an ancient book of alchemy.

As I read the last page, I was quite disappointed that I didn't know the final, "final," outcome, but decided to like the ending because of the hugely entertaining possibilities, and started to examine the fine print of the book.   A DISCOVER OF WITCHES IS PART ONE IN THE ALL SOULS TRILOGY.  LOOK FOR THE NEXT NOVEL IN 2012.  NO NO NO NO NO !!!!!

How will I ever remember every character and their part in the story between now and when a sequel comes out?

Witches and vampires and daemons.  All hate each other and have for millenniums.  Humans factor very little in this book (if at all), all the main players are creatures - namely witches, vampires, and daemons.  They are not supposed to mix, to fraternize, and a natural animosity usually even keeps them from being friends.  Until Diana Bishop and Matthew Clairmont meet.  KABOOM!  Sparks fly.  Literally.

Diana has always suppressed her witch tendencies.  She wants to be ordinary.  But a subhuman amount of adrenaline keep her running, rowing, and doing yoga whenever she's not researching.  She has no close friends (oddly), and the two aunts that raised her after her parents' murder worry obsessively about her. Although she is very attractive and has had lovers before, there are no males in her life. She has kept herself aloof emotionally, which is the perfect for what is about to happen.

Diana is no wimp.  She is no Bella - thankfully.  She is more of a Hermione, with a touch more determination and spunk (though Hermione did gather those possessions as she matured.)  Diana comes from a long line of Bishops, originating, she thinks, from Bridget Bishop who was killed during the Salem witch trials in the late 15th century.

I loved the first third of the book, the part that took place in Oxford.  The French part was really interesting, the American third had so much change and new information to absorb that I didn't enjoy it quite as much.  I can't believe that I decided to read an almost 600 page novel, but I'm really glad I did!

Fire Up With Reading - Toni Buzzeo

Illustrated by Sachiko Yoshikawa
Upstart Books, 2007
32 pages
Rating: 4
Endpapers: White

Mrs. Skorupski, the Liberty School librarian, has come up with a great idea to get the whole school reading - a 6-month competition to end on March 2nd, Read Across America Day. Her theme is based on fire-spouting dragons. Kids earn a dragon scale for every 30 minutes of reading...and the whole school starts to read, read, read, including Patty Lee and her 4th grade class.

Colorful, fanciful, simple illustrations cover the entire page. But do you like the cover? I don't.

Finding Lincoln - Ann Malaspina

Illustrated by Colin Bootman
Albert Whitman & Co., 2009
$16.99
32 pages
for: all kids - elementary especially
Rating: 4.5
Endpapers: med. brown
Author's Note

This is an essential book to share with kids. This took place just 50 years ago. This is not ancient history. It's heartbreaking. What were people thinking??? Segregation??? A very difficult happenstance for me to fathom at all.

Louis walks past the public library every day - but he is not allowed to enter. It's for WHITES ONLY.

He wants to find more information on Abraham Lincoln. The only way is to find a book that might have the information. The small collection of books that's been gathered in the church basement has nothing relevant. So he takes a huge chance and walks into the library. He is berated and asked to leave immediately. But one librarian whispers to him to come back the next day after five. He does, and she sneaks him in, finding him just the right book.

Okay, so libraries became desegrated in the mid-60's...and not without fights and injuries. What is wrong with people? I just don't understand, I never will...and I guess I don't want to!

Great story telling. Lovely illustrations that really capture the thoughts and "essence" of people on their faces. This is a wonderful book....but how sad that it had to be written!

Dewey, There's a Cat in the Library - Vicki Myron & Breat Witter

Illustrated by Steve James
Little Brown & Co., 2009
$16.99
32 pgs.
Rating: 4
Endpapers: paw prints in pale yellow

These have to be the cutest kitten illustrations I've ever seen - you just want to pick him up and let him purr.

Dewey is left in the book drop at a small-town library. This is the story of how he made this library his home - and how much all the patrons appreciated him. I believe it was a novel - perhaps for adults? first.

A really cute story for any cat lover.

Oro Valley Public Library - Arizona

I've only been to this library once before, a few years ago, and I only stumbled upon it. I remember being very impressed. I was in Oro Valley yesterday, so decided to hunt it down. Wowee. What a great library!

This library is its own entity, owned and operated by the town of Oro Valley. It's an affiliate of the Pima Country Library. That was news to me. I took out three books, and the automation and procedures are exactly the same. I wonder if they have their own library card?

Teens and Children's both have their OWN ROOMS! And when you first enter, to the right is a huge, beautfiully labeled section of used books and media that is the FRIENDS of THE LIBRARY bookstore. Great prices, great selection, and lots of new stuff!

It's huge. It has public rooms - there was one room full of women playing Mah Jong. It has large study carrells sprinkled around. It looks like they subscribe to tons of magazines.

Unfortunately for the town and for me, it's closed on Sunday.

Outside is a gorgeous sculpture, a tree sprouting from a book. It was 113 degrees outside, so I didn't scramble to find something to write on to notate the words. I will next time. With the mountains in the background....what a sight!

There were no grouchy librarians that I could see. It was quiet and peaceful. It was packed with adults - not many kids here today.

I am so lucky to have access to the many wonderful libraries in the Tucson area!

Pima County Library

When I moved to Tucson, Arizona from Northeast Harbor, Maine, within the first 48 hours I'd located the nearest library to my new digs. To my utter astonishment, I discovered over a dozen libaries would be available to me. My wonderful library in Northeast Harbor (and all the friends I made there) had welcomed me from my first week of residency to this very day, but I was overwhelmed and in love with these new facilities at my fingertips. And, since that first step into the Bear Canyon Library in 2002 to today, I hit one of the Pima County Libraries at least once a week, usually more. Yesterday I ventured to one that I hadn't visited before, and loved it. So I decided that one of my summer goals would be to check out each and every branch. I bet they're all wonderfully different. Oh, the picture books, the music, the array of books-on-tape, the different places to sit and read a magazine.......

I love the new library logo. In front of my school, just behind one of the most beautiful metal sculptures I've ever seen, is a plant that looks EXACTLY like the logo. I'll have to take a photo.

I love scanning my library card, scanning the books, and checking out myself.

I don't love that I can only have 25 out at a time - as a school teacher that uses lots of literature in her classroom that IS a bit limiting. .Ah, well.

And I don't love the reserve policy - I wish I could have more than 15 on reserve at a time. I'm always waiting for the good new ones to come in, and unless I want to be #88 out of 353 (this happens all the time, there are a lot of people in Tucson) I have to get my reserve request in. But I can receive a book that's sitting on a shelf in a far-off library withing two days. So the reserve list is used to transfer a book to Golf Links so that I can pick it up there. So so so cool, but it's really easy to get up to 15.

Miller-Golf Links Library, closest to my home and where I pick up all my reserves. My third home (Barnes & Noble Cafe is my second). Comfy.

River Branch, closest to school and on the way home, this is also where I went for most of the time I lived in the Foothills. I bump into a lot of students here, so to be anonymous I only use this in an emergency...although there's a really cute librarian that I like to say hi to once in awhile....(oh, how shallow!)

Bear Canyon They remodeled this library a bit ago, and it's a little less personal now. It also has a really unpleasant librarian (the only one I've met here). But it's an easy ride on the way home after school, and has a Dairy Queen right next door (mmmm, I feel like a Hawaiin Blizzard right now.....). Its also always VERY quiet, and I love the magazine reading area.

Himmel Park I spent one whole year, twice a week, tutoring here. It's small and always very busy with lots of little kids reading (and making noise). Too bad it's not bigger.

Nanini Branch A few blocks west of Sonoran Science Academy, where I taught for two years, I was a frequent visitor. Locked my keys in the car while there once (AAA was fast). Busy.

Murphy-Wilmot Branch This is closest to the mall, between Broadway and Speedway...I return a lot of books here. It's really, really busy, but easy to access, and I can find a lot of the children's books I'm hunting for here. For some reason, I run in almost every Sunday for one reason or other, and will today, too..... NOTE: July 2009: They're going to do some major remodeling on the library, and will move it for perhaps a year or so to a large building a bit south of the mall, (still on Wilmot).

Joel D. Valdez Main Library This is right smack in the downtown area. There's an undergroun parking garage. I've only been here once, and that was for a (wonderful) poetry class. It's huge, so I'm going to have to really check it out soon.

Columbus Branch I just discovered this one yesterday. Even though I've driven by it a hundred times (it's right on 22nd St.) I never noticed it. It's not labeled well. It's easy (and quiet) to park in the back, and the main entrance is there, too. There weren't many cars in the lot, but it was full of teenagers and adults reading and at the computers. Lots of tables and comfortable places to sit.

Martha Cooper Branch On my way home from school today (June 8th), I hunted for this one. It's on Catalina and Fairmount, between Pima and Speedway. Not too big, but not squished. New? There was a security guard - a really pleasant guy, but this is the first time I've seen that. Plenty of people inside, especially at computers both in the lab and their own personal laptops. Very small children's and YA section.

El Rio Branch Library is part of the El Rio Community Center. It's really, really small, with a limited number of books, but every computer was full and patrons continued to come in, going to the RESERVE section, or browsing the Spanish-language section. It's on Speedway, just west of the Berger Center, and has a beautiful mosaic outside.

Woods Memorial Branch Library
This is over on First, in the Amphi school district. It's very large. As usual, I spent most of my time in the children's section. On Sunday afternoon it was particularly quiet, but it was hot hot hot outside (111 degrees) so families were probably staying home. The computers were full, though. Lots and lots of kid's books!

Oro Valley Library This is an affiliate of the Pima County Library. I've written a separate blog here if you want to read it.

Library Mouse - A Friend's Tale - Daniel Kirk

Published: 2009
$15.95
Rating: 4.5
Endpapers: Aqua

I love Daniel Kirk! His illustrations - his plotlines - his themes. The whole enchilada.

Picture book illustrators often do not get to meet the writers of the book they're illustrating (I well remember the story of Cynthia Rylant hating the Caldecott-Award-winning illustrations in When I Was Young in the Mountains) Daniel Kirk has created a story of libraries, and books, and writing, and friendhip - and the collaboration of a picture book where the writer (Sam, the mouse) and the illustrator (Tom, a boy and library patron) do not meet.

Tom does discover that the library's secret book writer is Sam, a mouse, but he keeps the secret that Sam is a mouse and they create a wonderful book without ever meeting eye to eye. Very cute. I would recommend reading the previous book, (Library Mouse), first.

The full page mouse/boy/library illustrations are TERRIFIC!