The New Libearian

by Alison Donald, Alex Willmore (Illustrator)

Overview

A visit to the library can be full of surprises. When the librarian is late for story time, the children go off to look for her and follow mysterious paw prints to find a bear sitting at her desk. Is the bear a new librarian? Not exactly. The new LiBEARian opens a book about bears and utters a loud growl. The kids love it! Then the real librarian appears and sends the bear back into the book he came from. A fun twist at the end rounds out this winsomely illustrated tale of a universal childhood experience—story time at the library—infused with magic.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780544973657
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	01/09/2018
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 9.30(h) x 0.20(d)
Lexile:	AD510L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

Alison Donald works as a pediatric occupational therapist; The New LiBEARian is her first book. She lives with her family in Surrey, England.

Alex Willmore is an author and bestselling children’s book illustrator. Since he could first hold a pencil, Alex has been drawing characters, bringing each to life with a sense of mischief and fun. Alex currently lives in his hometown of Northampton with his wife, two sons, and their cats.

Editorial Reviews

11/13/2017
An unexpected guest shows up for story time in this light, amusing debut by U.K. author Donald. When the librarian fails to appear for story hour, a trail of clues leads the children “through a galaxy, into an ocean, and down a runway” until they find a new librarian—a friendly, if wild looking, bear. “Could you read us a scary story?” they ask, and the bear happily obliges with a book about—what else?—bears. He roars and stomps through the tale (in the book’s funniest detail, he isn’t able to talk, only growl), leaving the children begging for more until their usual librarian appears. “Sorry I’m late,” she explains. “A volcano erupted in the Ancient History section, and there was hot lava everywhere.” She begins to read from “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” but Baby Bear is missing from the tale—and the identity of the “new librarian” becomes clear. In bright, busy digital collages, newcomer Willmore depicts the library as a place where anything can happen, bolstering the story’s unspoken message about the magic that awaits in books. Ages 4–7. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

"Appropriately, this would make a fine read-aloud."   — Booklist "In bright, busy digital collages, newcomer Willmore depicts the library as a place where anything can happen, bolstering the story’s unspoken message about the magic that awaits in books."—Publishers Weekly "This fun read-aloud celebrates the camaraderie and wonder of sharing stories in a group setting and the power of imagination."—School Library Journal "The whimsical color artwork adds the perfect touch to this super-silly story, ideal for reading aloud. Highly recommended."—Midwest Book Review —

From the Publisher

12/01/2017
PreS-Gr 2—Dee and the other children are sitting in a cozy library nook waiting for storytime to begin, but the librarian, Ms. Merryweather, is nowhere to be found. After searching a bit, the kids come across giant-size paw prints, a sticky-with-honey desk, some torn-to-pieces pages, and a scruffy-looking critter they assume is a new librarian. With a wordless nod, the ursine individual agrees to read them a story, not about pirates or princesses, but about bears, of course, enthusiastically roaring, growling, and stomping his way through the tale. "EEEEE," the delighted children scream, and ask their storyteller to "Read it again!" When Ms. Merryweather finally appears (she was cleaning up hot lava from a volcano eruption in the Ancient History section), she begins to read "Goldilocks and the Three Bears," only to discover that Baby Bear is missing from the pages. Everything is set to rights and the book ends with the revelation that another literary personage has gone AWOL. The tale is crisply told and the buoyant illustrations, showing library stacks teeming with spinning planets, pirate ships, and imaginary creatures, depict a delightfully anything-can-happen atmosphere. VERDICT This fun read-aloud celebrates the camaraderie and wonder of sharing stories in a group setting and the power of imagination.—Joy Fleishhacker, Pikes Peak Library District, Colorado Springs

School Library Journal

2017-09-18
It's storytime, but where is the librarian?A diverse group of children sets out to search for Ms. Merryweather. The first clue they find is prints—not footprints but paw prints. Then they discover that the librarian's desk is sticky with spilled honey and covered in shredded and torn books. Behind the desk is "a new librarian"—a real bear, helpfully wearing a name tag that says "librarian." The kids are excited and ask the bear to read them a scary story. Of course, he does. Opening a book about bears, he roars, growls, stomps, and roars some more. (The key verbs are printed in all caps for extra fizz.) When Ms. Merryweather appears (she was seeing to a volcano eruption in a different section), she doesn't notice the bear. Her pick for storytime is "Goldilocks and the Three Bears," but wait, something is missing—where's the baby bear in the story? Guess! The pencil and digital media illustrations are simple; the kids have dots for eyes and mouths, and Ms. Merryweather, a white woman with fluffy red hair, wears stereotypical eyeglasses. The book's premise obviously springs from the familiar mispronunciation of the word "librarian" by kids, but it doesn't figure in the oddly disjointed story at all. The metafictive movement of the little bear in and out of the story lacks not only logic, but luster.Despite the elements of a favorite folk tale, storytime, and a bear, this is not a honey of a tale—it's bearly amusing. (Picture book. 4-6)

Kirkus Reviews