The Library Book

by Tom Chapin (Author) Chuck Groenink (Illustrator)

The Library Book
Reading Level: K − 1st Grade

What's the best way to cure a gloomy day? A trip to the library!

Based on the hit song by Tom Chapin and Michael Mark, here is an affectionate, exuberant, uproarious celebration of books, reading, and--SHHH!--libraries!

The rain is pouring, Dad is snoring, and the same old stuff is on TV--boring. What is there to do today? Go to the library, of course! Who will we meet there? Let's find out!

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School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2--This picture book uses the lyrics of "The Library Song" as text, then adds digital and pencil illustrations to share a young African American girl's extraordinary visit to her neighborhood public library. The pictures have a nostalgic feel, with the girl in a dress and large round glasses, the white female librarian wearing heels, skirt, jacket, and ribbon-tied blouse, and the library itself full of tall dark wooden shelves. With the card catalogue, date-due stamps, and absence of computers, the setting feels old-fashioned. The point of the song and the story is to introduce a string of beloved book characters, such as Winnie-the-Pooh, Curious George, Madeline, the Cat in the Hat, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and others. Adults will appreciate the mention of authors such as Roald Dahl and Philip Pullman, referenced on book spines. As the girl happily reads away the rainy morning, more and more characters sing and dance around the library, inviting all the library patrons to join in. The "shushing librarian" stereotype humorously is turned around when the girl asks the librarian to stop singing so that the girl can read in peace. VERDICT Although librarians will want to offer other resources in addition to the ones mentioned, this title is a fun read-aloud that will familiarize young children with the library.--Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VA

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Publishers Weekly

Singer-songwriter Chapin follows The Backwards Birthday Party, also illustrated by Groenink, with a second picture book adapted from his extensive catalog: in this case, "Library Song" (written with Mark) from his album Moonboat. "I'm going down to the library,/ picking out a book, check it in, check it out./ Gonna say hi to the dictionary,/ picking out a book, check it in, check it out," sings a brown-skinned girl with round yellow eyeglasses as she runs through the rain. Beyond the rows and rows of waiting books, several classic children's book figures soon appear on the scene, including Pinocchio, Sleeping Beauty, Babar, the Cat in the Hat, and Mother Goose. Even the serious librarian gets caught up in the increasingly rowdy fun, earning her a "shhh!" from the girl, who is ready to start reading. It's a book that could easily be used in elementary school classrooms before visits to the library, and readers will enjoy spotting recognizable characters in Groenink's cozy illustrations. This celebration of reading and libraries is sure to charm those who love both. Ages 4-8. Illustrator's agent: Stephen Barr, Writers House. (Oct.)

Copyright 2017 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

* "This cheerful picture book opens on a rainy Saturday morning.... Written in 1989, with upbeat lyrics, natural-sounding rhymes, and a catchy tune, the song "The Library Song" creates a surprisingly good text for a picture book. The words can be read aloud easily, as the cadence is evident when the words are spoken, but the effect is more magical when the words are sung (the tune is readily available online). Groenink...magically brings the song to life on the page through his pleasing pencil-and-digital artwork. From the rainy-village street scene to the library interiors to the child's cozy bedroom, the pictures are well structured and full of intriguing details for children to find and enjoy. Fun for story hours and satisfying for reading one-on-one."— "Booklist, July 2017, *STARRED REVIEW*"
Tom Chapin
Tom Chapin has entertained, amused, and enlightened audiences of all ages for more than forty years and through twenty-seven CDs, eight Grammy nominations, three Grammy awards, and thousands of live performances. A pioneer in the field of children's music, he is also a respected singer-songwriter and a strong advocate for the arts in education. Tom lives in Piermont, New York. Find out more at TomChapin.com.

Michael Mark is a musician, composer, and actor whose accomplishments include a Drama Desk Award as a Featured Actor in the Broadway Musical I Love My Wife, and the composition to the theme song for the long-running TV show Entertainment Tonight. For more than thirty years, Michael has written, toured and performed with Tom Chapin, sharing in Grammy nominations for Tom's albums of family music. He lives with his wife, Mary, a reading specialist, in New York. Their two children, Noah and Ronen, are out in the world having successful, creative lives.

Chuck Groenink is the illustrator of The Backwards Birthday Party and a few other books. Originally from the Netherlands, he now lives with his wife and cats in Valatie, New York. When not drawing pictures for books, he likes to read, bake bread, or go hiking, and he wishes he could play the banjo. Visit him online at ChuckGroenink.com.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781481460927
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Publication date
October 03, 2017
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV047000 - Juvenile Fiction | Books & Libraries
JUV051000 - Juvenile Fiction | Imagination & Play
JUV012030 - Juvenile Fiction | Fairy Tales & Folklore | General
Library of Congress categories
United States
Libraries
Books and reading
Songs
Children's songs, English

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