National Library Week 2024 is Sunday, April 7th through Saturday, April 13th! Celebrate the power of librarians with The Brilliant Ms. Bangle author Cara Devins, and incredible books starring libraries and librarians!
National Library Week Author Spotlight: Cara Devins!
Celebrate National Library Week with Cara Devins, author of The Brilliant Ms. Bangle about a fabulous librarian who helps students welcome big changes!
Cara Devins was born and no one is going to dispute that! Don’t even try. Where? Boston, to Chris and Marie. Later, Caitlin joined the party. Cara now lives in Brooklyn with her husband Patrick and their daughter, Sienna. The Brilliant Ms. Bangle is her first picture book.
Can you tell us what inspired you to write The Brilliant Ms. Bangle?
Cara: There’s nothing I love more than to laugh and I started to think to myself that most young kids are probably sitting out the final season of Curb Your Enthusiasm and honestly, many in the six and under set may be entirely unfamiliar with Tina Fey’s whole body of work. That’s no way to live! I thought to myself, who can make these little guys laugh? And out of that Ms. Bangle was born.
What advice would you give to librarians or educators who are just starting out in a new school or library community, like Ms. Bangle?
Cara: The number one way to win people over is a good Christopher Walken impression. If you can’t do that, the next best thing to take a page out Ms. Bangle’s book and remember that getting to know someone and adjusting to new situations can take time—be patient. You can also take a page out of Ms. Bangle’s by sharing some things about yourself to help people connect with you. After that please don’t take any more pages out of Ms. Bangle’s books. There won’t be pages left!
How do you hope The Brilliant Ms. Bangle will be used in classrooms and libraries?
Cara: I hope that students and teachers make use of the amazing book cover, which also doubles as a poster! It says “Reading is Brilliant!” I hope kids hang it up at home, or in their classrooms. Or both! Or EVERYWHERE.
How are you planning to celebrate National Library Week?
Cara: Ok, this is both a statement and an apology: I will probably go to my local Brooklyn library with my two small children (as we often do), where inevitably someone in my party will crush a cheerio into the carpet. Now, I’m not even going to bring cheerios to the library as I know this is a possibility but believe me . . . one will be found. It’s both science and a law. I’m sorry, and, most importantly, THANK YOU to the crew at my local library for creating such an incredible environment for children to explore books and nurture their love of reading.
What advice do you have for young, aspiring writers?
Cara: In most cases it’s going to take a lot of ideas and drafts to get something that really works. Don’t give up! Keep going and be open to where the story leads you. If it leads you down apath about a penguin who works at a morning show though please stop because that’s the story I’m writing now and I don’t need the competition.
About The Brilliant Ms. Bangle
The Brilliant Ms. Bangle
Ages 3-5
On Sale Now!
A brilliant librarian helps students to welcome big changes in this picture book by Cara Devins with illustrations from K-Fai Steele.
It’s a new school year, and something is different. The students’ beloved librarian, Ms. Stack, has retired. The new librarian, Ms. Bangle, is not the same! She has different ways of doing, well, everything! How will the students ever adjust?
Change isn’t easy, but it can be a positive experience. With a bit of patience, and a lot of heart, it can be positively brilliant.
Read on for more resources to use in your library or classroom!
Click the tabs below to view more books about libraries, and starring librarians, in each age category.
Dear Librarian
by Lydia M. Sigwarth; illustrated by Romina Galotta
When Lydia was five years old, she and her family had to leave their home. They hopped from Grandma’s house to Aunt Linda’s house to Cousin Alice’s house, but no place was permanent. Then one day, everything changed. Lydia’s mom took her to a new place—not a house, but a big building with stone columns, and tall, tall steps. The library. In the library, Lydia found her special spot across from the sunny window, at a round desk. For behind that desk was her new friend, the librarian. Together, Lydia and the librarian discovered a world beyond their walls, one that sparkled with spectacular joy. Paired with warm art by newcomer Romina Galotta and a foreword by Ira Glass, Dear Librarian is a “thank you” to anyone who has offered a child love and support during a difficult time.
★ “This touching story celebrates the joys of friendship, finding a home, and the power of libraries.”—School Library Journal, starred review
The Midnight Library
by Kazuno Kohara
A Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year
Perfect for bedtime reading, pay a visit to the Midnight Library where you can snuggle up for a nighttime story. There is a little library that only opens at night. In the library there is a little librarian—and her three assistant owls—who helps everyone find the perfect book. The library is always peaceful and quiet . . . until one night when some of the animals stir up a little trouble (and a little fun!) in the Midnight Library.
A Book for Escargot
by Dashka Slater; illustrated by Sydney Hanson
A cute French snail searches for the book of his dreams in this laugh-out-loud second picture book in the bestselling Escargot series.
Lost in the Library: A Story of Patience & Fortitude
by Josh Funk; illustrated by Stevie Lewis
Steadfast Fortitude and curious Patience are waiting every morning to greet visitors of the Library. That is until, one early morning, when Fortitude finds Patience is missing. The city is about to awake, and the lions absolutely must be in their places before the sun rises. Now, Fortitude must abandon his own post to find his best friend in the Library’s labyrinthine halls. With Josh Funk’s clever rhymes and Steview Lewis’ vibrant art, Lost in the Library introduces young readers to a pair of unforgettable lions, as well as the famed New York Public Library, and includes bonus material loaded with facts about Patience, Fortitude, and the NYPL’s history.
Where is Our Libray?: A Story of Patience and Fortitude
by Josh Funk; illustrated by Stevie Lewis
A companion to Lost in the Library and our second picture book in partnership with the New York Public Library. Curious Patience and steadfast Fortitude wait every morning to greet visitors of the New York Public Library—and slip away every night to read in the Children’s Center. But one day, Patience and Fortitude find the Children’s Center empty! The two lions set out into the city to locate their missing books and encounter some literary landmarks along the way.
Ronan the Librarian
by Tara Luebbe and Becky Cattie; illustrated by Victoria Maderna
This humorous picture book from sister duo Tara Luebbe and Becky Cattie and illustrator Victoria Maderna follows Ronan the Barbarian as he grows from being just a rough-and-tumble warrior to Ronan the Librarian—a rough-and-tumble warrior who loves books.
The Library
by Sarah Stewart; illustrated by David Small
Elizabeth Brown doesn’t like to play with dolls and she doesnt like to skate. What she does like to do is read books. Lots of books. The only problem is that her library has gotten so big she can’t even use her front door anymore. What should Elizabeth Brown do? Start her own public library, of course! With charming verse and watercolors Sarah Stewart and David Small celebrate one of America’s oldest and finest institutions.
The Lost Library
by Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass
When a mysterious little free library (guarded by a large orange cat) appears overnight in the small town of Martinville, eleven-year-old Evan plucks two weathered books from its shelves, never suspecting that his life is about to change. Evan and his best friend Rafe quickly discover a link between one of the old books and a long-ago event that none of the grown-ups want to talk about. The two boys start asking questions whose answers will transform not only their own futures, but the town itself. Told in turn by a ghost librarian named Al, an aging (but beautiful) cat named Mortimer, and Evan himself, The Lost Library is a timeless story from award-winning authors Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass. It’s about owning your truth, choosing the life you want, and the power of a good book (and, of course, the librarian who gave it to you).
Read a MacKids Author Spotlight interview with Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass here.
The Library of Ever
by Zeno Alexander
The Library of Ever is an instant classic for middle grade readers and booklovers everywhere—an adventure across time and space, as a young girl becomes a warrior for the forces of knowledge. With her parents off traveling the globe, Lenora is bored, bored, bored—until she discovers a secret doorway into the ultimate library. Mazelike and reality-bending, the library contains all the universe’s wisdom. Every book ever written, and every fact ever known, can be found within its walls. And Lenora becomes its newly appointed Fourth Assistant Apprentice Librarian. She rockets to the stars, travels to a future filled with robots, and faces down a dark nothingness that wants to destroy all knowledge. To save the library, Lenora will have to test her limits and uncover secrets hidden among its shelves.
Banned Books, Crop Tops, & Other Bad Influences
by Brigit Young
On sale September 2024
Perfect for fans of Star Fish and From the Desk of Zoe Washington, a nuanced middle grade from the author of The Prettiest about two girls—one “bad” and one “good”—who join forces against book banning and censorship.
The Story Collector
by Kristin O’Donnell Tubb; illustrated by Iacopo Bruno
In the tradition of E. L. Konisburg, Kristin O’Donnell Tubb’s The Story Collector is a historical fiction middle-grade novel inspired by the real life of Viviani Joffre Fedeler, born and raised in the New York Public Library. Eleven-year-old Viviani Fedeler has spent her whole life in the New York Public Library. She knows every room by heart, except the ones her father keeps locked. When Viviani becomes convinced that the library is haunted, new girl Merit Mubarak makes fun of her. So Viviani decides to play a harmless little prank, roping her older brothers and best friend Eva to help out. But what begins as a joke quickly gets out of hand, and soon Viviani and her friends have to solve two big mysteries: Is the Library truly haunted? And what happened to the expensive new stamp collection? It’s up to Viviani, Eva, and Merit (reluctantly) to find out.
Book Scavenger
by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
For twelve-year-old Emily, the best thing about moving to San Francisco is that it’s the home city of her literary idol: Garrison Griswold, book publisher and creator of the online sensation Book Scavenger (a game where books are hidden in cities all over the country and clues to find them are revealed through puzzles). Upon her arrival, however, Emily learns that Griswold has been attacked and is now in a coma, and no one knows anything about the epic new game he had been poised to launch. Then Emily and her new friend James discover an odd book, which they come to believe is from Griswold himself, and might contain the only copy of his mysterious new game. Racing against time, Emily and James rush from clue to clue, desperate to figure out the secret at the heart of Griswold’s new game—before those who attacked Griswold come after them too.
