I just finished reading A Girl, A Raccoon, and the Midnight Moon by Karen Roman Young.

It’s a fun story about 11-year-old Pearl who wants to save her small library in her equally small New York neighborhood.

After the library loses the head of its claim to fame—the statue of poet Edna St. Vincent Millay—the city is going to vote on whether to turn the facility into apartments.

But Pearl isn’t going to let the library and its family of racoons go down without a fight.

Young’s book is a good lesson in taking on “city hall,” funding allocations, and preserving a neighborhood treasure…and a LIBRARY!

The book made me think of the libraries across our country.

Many of them are stunning, with special sections devoted to kids and stirring their imaginations.

Starting off with the famed New York Public Library—you know, the one with the iconic lions in repose out front (Patience and Fortitude).

I was kind of saddened to learn that the children’s section is no longer housed in this building.

Now the children’s books are at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library.

But it’s only about a two-minute walk from the main branch.

While it can’t brag about lions out front, it can certainly brag about its LEGO lions inside.

Yup, Patience and Fortitude have been replicated in gray LEGOs.

Maggie Craig, Supervising Librarian for Youth Services at the Stavros branch, answered a few of my questions:

GLF: Tell me about your new children’s library.

Maggie Craig: The Children’s Center feels like an underground haven of space for kids to read and explore, hidden away at the bottom of a big building in the middle of midtown.

GLF: What books are flying off the shelves this season?

MC: The popular nine-book series Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger and the 15-books series Wings of Fire by Tui T. Sutherland. [Some of the Wings of Fire books are graphic novels].

We often recommend Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston for fans of Rick Riordan and J.K. Rowling, and The Babysitters Club [graphic novel series] by Gale Galligan and Raina Telgemeier. (Some of you may remember fondly the 131-book (gasp!) series Babysitters Club by Ann M. Martin, which was popular from about 1986-1999.)

GLF: What books did you love as a kid?

MC: I loved Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark collected by Alvin Schwartz, and From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsberg.

GLF: Is there anything you’d like kids to know about reading, writing, or libraries?

MC: Some of the best resources in the library are the people who work there.

Whether you’re an avid reader, feeling bored or stuck with books, or just doesn’t know what to read next, talk to a librarian next time you visit!

They are full of ideas and recommendations for every kind of reader.

My next stop was the Charlotte/Mecklenburg Public Library and ImaginOn Joe and Joan Martin Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.

This branch library has partnered with Children’s Theater Charlotte for 18 years to create a building where stories are brought to life.

I spoke with Becca Worthington, the energetic children’s librarian who loves to see kids’ jaws drop when they first walk in and see the dragon over the door greeting them.

When ImaginOn is not putting on plays, the library continues to spark children’s imagination through self-guided activities like scavenger hunts and puppet shows and with its museum.

GLF: What books are flying off the shelves at your library?

Becca Worthington: It’s hard to keep graphic novels in stock.

Books like Dog Man by Dave Pilkey [the 10-book series by creator of Captain Underpants] and the graphic novel reboot of The Babysitters Club.

GLF: What were your favorite books as a child?

BW: I loved The Chronicles of Narnia [C.S. Lewis] and The Ordinary Princess by M.M. Kaye.

GLF: I’ve never heard of The Ordinary Princess.

BW: No one ever has! But I loved it.

GLF: What would you like kids to know about reading, books, or libraries in general?

BW: I would love to see parents really celebrate graphic novels.

I wish that with my entire heart.

Graphic novels foster a joy of reading.

After Charlotte, I “visited” the John P. Holt Brentwood Library in Brentwood, Tennessee, and spoke with Missy Dillingham.

She told me that the library’s 2009 renovation has resulted in attracting a lot more kids.

As kids walk in, they’re greeted by an arch of books and a tree with an owl.

It’s a magical place to spend some time reading.

GLF: What are the most popular books this summer?

Missy Dillingham: Anything by author Chris Colfer [Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell, The Enchantress Returns, A Tale of Magic, and more].

Stuart Gibbs is also popular [Spy School series, or Funjungle series].

The [22-book series] I Survived by Lauren Tarshis and graphic novels like Dog Man are very popular too.

GLF: Your favorite books as a child?

MD: The Nancy Drew books or any of the biographies in the [78-book] series Childhood of Famous Americans.

GLF: Anything you want kids to know about your library?

MD: I hope that anyone entering the library will feel welcome.

Please come on in and say hi, and the librarians will help you find just the right book.

My last stop was the Seattle Central Public Library in Seattle, Washington.

It’s eleven stories of glass and steel.

Gorgeous.

The children’s section is on the first floor and has some rather large art installations completed by textile artist Mandy Greer of Seattle.

They’re made from fabric, papier-mache and steel and based on three folk tales: The Phoenix Fairy, Babe the Ox, and The Magic Grove.

Pre-pandemic, there was a Storytime Book Cave that held up to one hundred kids.

While the cave still exists, unfortunately it can’t be used for storytime anymore.

Eliza Summerlin, librarian, hopes to one day be able to read to kids in the cave again.

GLF: What are your library’s popular books?

Eliza Summerlin: Amari and the Night Brothers and the graphic novel series Bug Boys by Lauren Knetzger.

GLF: What did you read when you were a kid?

ES: I loved Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech.

GLF: What would you like to tell kids or parents about reading?

ES: I hope that children are encouraged to read graphic novels.

There is no right or wrong book to read.

Any book that engages a child is a good book and the right book for them.

So there you have it.

I must admit, I have never read a graphic novel.

But after hearing their praise from librarians across the country, I’m going to give them a try.

Look for a review here down the road.

I hope you’ve enjoyed traveling to these imaginative and fun libraries.

I hope you feel encouraged to drop by your own library and say hello to the well-versed librarians just waiting to help you and/or your kids continue a magical reading journey.

(I’ve included links to Amazon for readers to see if you’re interested in the books before going to the library…or you can purchase them directly from Amazon.)

Until next week, happy reading…and writing!

~gail

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