Do you get books from a public library in your town or even in your school library? In many remote areas of the world, there are no library buildings. Writer Margriet Ruurs read a newspaper article about a camel in Kenya that is used to bring books to children in remote desert villages. She became curious about how else children around the world might get their books if there is no library. Librarians and volunteers from many countries sent her stories and photos of their mobile libraries. The result is this intriguing photo essay, a celebration of books, readers, and libraries. In the jungles of Thailand, in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia, in rural Zimbabwe, the arrival of the mobile library is a major and exciting event. If it weren't for librarians and volunteers, people in these remote parts of the world might never have books to read. In other countries, books are delivered in unusual ways: by bus, boat, elephant, donkey, train or even by wheelbarrow. Why would librarians go to the trouble of packing books on the backs of elephants or driving miles to deliver books by bus? Because, as one librarian in Azerbaijan says, "books are as important to us as air or water!"
Do you get books from a public library in your town or even in your school library? In many remote areas of the world, there are no library buildings. Writer Margriet Ruurs read a newspaper article about a camel in Kenya that is used to bring books to children in remote desert villages. She became curious about how else children around the world might get their books if there is no library. Librarians and volunteers from many countries sent her stories and photos of their mobile libraries. The result is this intriguing photo essay, a celebration of books, readers, and libraries. In the jungles of Thailand, in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia, in rural Zimbabwe, the arrival of the mobile library is a major and exciting event. If it weren't for librarians and volunteers, people in these remote parts of the world might never have books to read. In other countries, books are delivered in unusual ways: by bus, boat, elephant, donkey, train or even by wheelbarrow. Why would librarians go to the trouble of packing books on the backs of elephants or driving miles to deliver books by bus? Because, as one librarian in Azerbaijan says, "books are as important to us as air or water!"
Margriet Ruurs loves to visit her local library. She writes children's books and educational materials and conducts author visits in schools across the United States and Canada. She lives in Shedd, Oregon.
"With little information available about libraries of the world,
this title offers a glimpse into the world of books, which several
countries consider as important as air or water. This might be an
interesting revelation to many students who consider reading a
laborious task and to those who take an abundance of books very
much for granted." — School Library Journal
"One of the more unusual books about libraries, this may also get
kids thinking about children in other countries in a way that the
series books never do." — Kirkus Reviews
"The easygoing and accessible narrative would work well as either a
readaloud or as a text for independent readers. . . . Well
organized and engaging." — Bulletin of the Center for Children's
Books
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