The Library by Sarah Stewart and Pictures by David Small

When I mentioned that our current bimonthly theme Books about Books is kin to our previous theme which was Dusty Bookshelves and Library Loot, I wasn’t kidding. I originally meant to share this book weeks ago, but I thought that this kind of intense passion for booksbooksbooks would suit our current theme better.

This book simply resonated with me on so many levels. I think of myself as an avid bibliophile. This book, however, has shown me that I’m not-nearly-close-enough to the leagues of Mary Elizabeth Brown. She is a different entity altogether.

The book begins with the baby Elizabeth Brown literally dropping straight down from the sky. The narrative (which is told in beautiful verse) builds up to her childhood where she was shown to prefer reading books over dolls, skating, or even playing with friends. As she grew older and went off to the academy, she brought along with her a steamer trunk filled with books. I had to laugh aloud as it is such a familiar sight.

Further proof that Elizabeth Brown is such a hardcore bibliogeek can be understood through these lines:

Elizabeth Brown

preferred a book

to going on a date.

While friends went out

and danced till dawn, 

She stayed up reading late.

Now that’s pretty hardcore, if I may say so myself. The fact that she reads while exercising is a testament to her single-mindedness and amazing focus. I also love how she mistakenly found her way to what would be her home – the place where she eventually settled down. In time, she has accumulated way too many books that it filled every little nook and cranny in her home:

When volumes climbed the parlor walls

And blocked the big front door,

She had to face the awful fact

She could not have one more.

How Elizabeth Brown solved this wondrous dilemma, I shall leave for you to discover. The husband-and-wife tandem has once more created an achingly beautiful book that would whisper sweet-familiar-nothings to the ear of any one who has fallen in love with words.

Teacher Resources. I was able to find a few links that would help teachers discuss this book in the classroom. Here is a downloadable powerpoint slideshow created by kent.edu that includes lesson plans and guide questions. It also features a companion book to The Library entitled A Fine Fine School by Sharon Creech. Here is another very comprehensive downloadable pdf link created by Macmillan, and what I would call the definitive Teachers’ Guide to the works of Sarah Stewart and David Small.

It would also be good to get a feel of how students respond to Elizabeth Brown’s passion. Among older kids, it would be worthwhile to explore the concepts of living-life-through-books or having books as one’s lifelong companion. It would be good to compare young children’s response to this book as opposed to, say, a high school student. If you have used this book in your classroom, do let me know how the students found it.

The Library by Sarah Stewart and Pictures by David Small. Published by Farrar Straus Giroux, 1995. Book borrowed from the public library. Book photos taken by me.

IRA Teachers’ Choices, New York Times Book Review Notable Children’s Books of the Year, New York Times Outstanding Books of the Year, Publishers Weekly Best Children’s Books of the Year

AWB Reading Challenge Update: 93 (35)

PictureBook Challenge Update: 101 of 120

Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge Update: 31 (12)