"The town's detective saw
the crowd forming and came
over to see if there was any
trouble. She picked up a book.
"This was my favorite book
growing up!"
"And this book is the
reason I fell in love
with the sea," said
the boat captain."
It takes a disaster for the people who live in Littletown to finally notice their library; well, its absence. A devastating tornado picks it up, carries it away, and leaves a big empty space. The townspeople have ideas concerning what might replace it. Nia voices her opinion:
"We need to rebuild the library."
There are clear arguments from those who have not been using it. Nia disagrees with them. She loves the library. She wants to read the books a new library would provide. She decides that writing new books will be the answer. It takes time, and no one appears to care. When the wagon is full of her own handwritten books, she sets off to offer them for the townspeople to check out.
She starts with the grocer; he is first to point out that Nia's story has mistakes. He says he will make things right. Nia moves on, loaning books to anyone interested. Each of her books has special meaning for someone in town. Soon, everyone is writing. It is not an easy task, but it is worthwhile. As they write, they share memories of books they have loved at an earlier time. Soon, there are new books everywhere and they are a disorganized mess.
Invested townspeople step up to provide shelving, a building, and some welcoming lions to stand guard outside the front doors. Soon, everyone is involved and the library is open to welcome readers. Only one thing is missing; a librarian. No problem at all. It becomes a place of community and joy.
All is well ... until the tornado returns!
Mark Pett creates town scenes that are warm and inviting. Back matter includes an author’s note.
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