Customer Reviews

The Library

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

My mother met Sarah Stewart, author of THE LIBRARY and sent me an autographed copy of the book. When I read it to my four year old daughter she laughed and laughed at the humor that is sometimes subtle in the text and brought delightfully to life in the illustrations. What fun this book is on my daughter's level and also on mine. And who hasn't walked into a wall trying to vaccuum while reading?

So, I'm so greatful this book made its way into my ever growing cases and closets and piles of books. We will be reading it and recommending it to everyone for years to come.

So, as my autographed copy says, "Good books are friends for life!"

Heidi ("Lucky daughter of [the author's] new friend Jane" Yolen)

When I first saw the cover of "The Library," I had to have this book. My 87-year-old mother, still a voracious reader, tells stories of walking home from school, two miles each way, with a book in front of her face. Her sister and brothers had long left her behind, while she wended her way home, reading in progress. This picture makes me think of my mother and books.

What is it in those books to keep one pulled in, pinned in? At any rate, "The Library" is a paean to readers everywhere. Readers read. Elizabeth Brown is our stereotype, our archetype.

Each illustration shows another facet of the "stereotypical" reader. Early on, Elizabeth eschews toys for books, she reads uncover at night, she is bored by anything but reading. After completing school, she buys a house and becomes a tutor. Always reading.

Finally, she becomes so book-rich, there is no room left in her house. She donates it to the town along with the books for a Free Library. She moves in with a reading friend (who else?) to continue reading.

This is a lovely book, yes, but I have a problem with it. I'm a reader, a retired English teacher who pushed reading, a librarian who pushes a variety of books, yet I have a problem with Elizabeth Brown who reads her entire life. Yes, wow, the joy of reading and all it brings, but the joy of life outside a book and all it brings remains closed to Elizabeth Brown. The book saddens me a little, despite its beauty and nostalgia.

And, yes, my mother knows how to close a book and enjoy the life outside!

Certain books recognize a niche and run at it full throttle. If you've ever known a librarian personally (everyone should be so lucky) then you know that this particular profession is obsessed with itself. Librarians love to seek out librarian related movies ("Party Girl", for example), music (Tori Amos's, "Songs of the Librarian"), and best of all... books! So when Sarah Stewart sat down and wrote a book entitled, "The Library", she basically guaranteed that it would be a success with at least one group of people in the world. Fortunately, the book is a hit with another group as well. Kids.

Our heroine is Elizabeth Brown and our heroine's method of entering the story is to fall from the sky into her mother's outstretched laundry linen. Says the text, "Elizabeth Brown/ Entered the world/ Dropping straight down from the sky/ Elizabeth Brown/ Entered the world/ Skinny, nearsighted, and shy". From the beginning the girl is an avid reader. With her constant companions at her side (a stuffed teddy bear and a continually serene housecat) we watch as Elizabeth Brown goes to school and breaks her own bunk bed with the weight of her books. She lends them to friends and eschews the lure of the opposite sex. Older still, she starts tutoring and lives on her own, reading all the while. Then one day there's no denying it any longer. "She had to face the awful fact". There are just too many books in the house. Without further ado her house becomes a library and she moves in with a female friend. To the end of their days they continue to read, "And turned page... after page... after page".

For readers (especially shy nearsighted ones) who have turned their lives over wholeheartedly to the reading of literature, this book is the ultimate compliment. As a Horn Book Magazine review once said, it shows a woman, "whose life is graceful and meaningful". Reading it myself, I love it. No question. But there is that nagging little voice at the back of my head that questions whether or not Elizabeth Brown did, in fact, lead a "meaningful" life. I suppose she did in the sense that she brought books to other people by opening her library. But her own life was, in a sense, squandered in books. Though she did have a friend at the end, she had no close relationships or fellow human companionship for quite some time. Then again, it's a good children's book that makes you ponder the meaning of what constitutes a rich and full life. Such big questions for such small packages.

As for the illustrations by David Small... they are without fault. I've read a lot of David Small books in my day, and to my mind this one is his best work in terms of skill. I've heard mumbles in the bookselling community that Small (married to the book's author Sarah Stewart) tends to make her the star of his illustrations on a regular basis. Just check out "The Money Tree" if you don't believe me. In this case, Small's somewhat choppy style has been tamed and given a great deal of depth and feeling. There are tiny evocative details in this story that charm as often as they impress. In a section that describes the seasons, a small blue colored bird grasps a flowering tree's branch between its little clawed feet. Delicate line drawings of leaves and snowflakes fall on either side of the text. And on each and every page the corners of the illustrations are held within beautiful cornerpieces. For kids, there's the added fun of trying to find Elizabeth Brown's teddy bear and cat in almost every illustration.

The book takes a love of reading to a safe extreme. It teaches children the joy of the process while, at the same time, being a fun and friendly book in and of itself. It's a little peculiar to read a book about reading (especially if you're a child) but I don't think they'll mind. In the end, it's so filled with a love of literature that even the most die hard television couch potato who happens to see it will be charmed. Altogether, a wonderful little work.

I bought this book when I was in the midst of a grass roots effort to get a new library built in my small town. That library opened four days ago. Fortunately, unlike the heroine in the book, my motivation was not driven by the need to find a home for too many books, although that new library does contain some of my overflow!

This is a wonderful book about the joy of reading, and the sharing of that joy with others. Some of us choose to share it through teaching, others through library work or literacy programs. Our heroine literally shares with her whole community when her collection grows too large for her living quarters.

A wonderful book to share with you favorite reader, or advocate for reading. A copy will find its way to our beautiful new library soon!

Elizabeth Brown always loved books. In fact, "She didn't like to play with dolls,/She didn't like to skate./She learned to read quite early/And at an incredible rate." And through her long life, Elizabeth was never without a book, even while vacuuming or shopping or even exercising. As the years passed, her collection grew until every surface was covered with books. "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." So Elizabeth Brown did the wise and generous thing, she shared her books with the entire town in a very original way..... The wonderful husband and wife team of Sarah Stewart and David Small have authored a delightful and entertaining story about an endearing red-headed, nearsighted bibliophile. Ms Stewart's simple and gentle, rhyming text sparkles, and is complemented by Mr Small's charming and humorous artwork. Children and adults alike will enjoy all the wonderfully special details in each picture. Together word and art paint an engaging portrait of a unique and spirited, book-loving heroine who won't be soon forgotten. Perfect for youngsters 4-8, The Library is a classic little treasure to read and share with the entire family, and is definitely a must for each and every home library.

As a librarian, I loved Sarah Stewart's description of books and reading. But as other reviewers have covered this aspect, I won't mention more.

In addition, I found her portrayal of Elizabeth Brown refreshing. Although Elizabeth has friends, she spends much time alone reading. She grows up to be a single woman who lives alone and who never marries. It's okay to be solitary! It's okay to be single! Most books are about forming relationships with others. This one is about being yourself in solitude.

Sarah Stewart has crafted a wonderful story of Elizabeth Brown, nearsighted and shy, who is not very good at sports. Elizabeth Brown learns to read and from that moment on, she is emmersed in books. From climbing under the covers with a flashlight to read until late at night, to reading in class, to playing library with her friends, Elizabeth loves her books. As she grows up, she chooses books as her companions and fills her house with books. Like many people who love books, she passes up new clothes and snacks and looks for new books to read. Soon her house is filled to the brim with books, books are everywhere!And Elizabeth still always has a book in her hand, no matter what she is doing. Finally, realizing she hasn't room for one more single book she decides to find a new use for her beloved books. This whimsical story will spark recognition in older readers and delight youngsters. Once again, Sarah Stewart and David Small have teamed to creat the very best of books. This is a delight.

I found this book quite by accident. If you're a book lover of any age, you'll love it. This is a very short story about Elizabeth Brown, who loved to read so much that it eclipsed everything else in her life. The illustrations by David Small are marvelous. This book is both lovely to look at and fun to read. A quick treat that'll put a smile on your face while you're reading it and ever after when you glance at it on your bookshelf.

I adore the books of Sarah Stewart. I plan to use these books when I start teaching. Although I live and will work in a majority minority neighborhood, I know any child that can read will love to read this.

Ok, besides the stereotypes this book is cute. My 3 year old loves to have this book read to her. To see Elizabeth Brown so deep in a book that she runs into a wall or standing on her head while reading is so hilarious to her! She belly laughs. The pictures are great and the idea of having so many books that they cover that walls and break upper bunks is exciting to a child.