by Moe Zilla

Created on: May 05, 2010

"Our library is going to close forever…" whispers Miss Goose, as she leans across her desk to stamp a raccoon's library book. And there's lots of other happy animals checking out books - including a mouse, a skunk, a rabbit, and a squirrel. They're all wearing bright, colorful clothing, and their circle eyes seem curious about why the library is closing. "It's too old," whispers Miss Goose. "It needs a new roof. And new paint."

So the animals check out books about building a roof - and about painting a library!

There's a simple message about libraries in this book, but it's delivered with sunny positivity. "We read by day, and we read by night," says the animal narrator (as the illustrator shows them huddled around the library, reading by candlelight). The next morning all the animals pitch in to fix the library, painting it "butter-cup yellow with sky-blue trim and a grass-green door." And when the new library is revealed, it looks tidy and welcoming…

Eve Bunting was 80 years old when she wrote "Our Library". (According to the book's jacket, she'd already written more than 200 books for children, "which can be found in libraries around the world.") She fills the story with lots of playful details which help keep the story interesting. And she dedicates the book to her daughter Christine, who she identifies as "my favorite librarian."

Illustrator Maggie Smith also thanks the Harvard Public Library, "the lovely little red-brick library of my childhood," and maybe the happy experience inspired her cheerful animals. They decide to hold a bake sale to fund the library, and Smith fills it with lots of plates of tasty-looking treats, and then they also hold and art sale filled with colorful paintings. And in one drawing, they're even selling candy door-to-door!

There's a nice two-page spread showing the green trees of the neighborhood and its surrounding hillside. In the end, the animals have to scout for a new location to move the library building. But the book cleverly makes an important point - that the animals have to get the community involved - since the new location, Buttercup Meadow, is owned by a grumpy old beaver. But fortunately, there's a library book to help them out - called "How to Speak Wisely and Well to Grumpy Old Beavers." ("New and Updated.")

"We read by day, and we read by night," the book repeats again. And they ultimately convince the beaver to let them move the library into his meadow. It's fun to see the butter-cup yellow library moving uphill on a set of wheels - as it's dragged by over a dozen different animals. And then there's a few more pages where the animals simply enjoy their local public library.

"There's nothing you can't learn to do when you have books," says a gopher….

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