The Lady with the Books by Kathy Stinson illustrated by Marie Lafrance

The full title of this book is:  The Lady with the Books: A story inspired by the Remarkable Work of Jella Lepman

"The Lady with Books is most timely and highly recommended, especially for school libraries. Proceeds from the sale of this book will go to IBBY's Children in Crisis Fund, to support storytelling and book delivery to children who lives have been disrupted by war or disaster." Dr Robin Morrow Magpies Magazine vol 35, issue 4, September 2020.

"Let us set this upside-down world right again by starting with the children. They will show the grown-ups the way to go." Jella Lepman, 1945

Blurb from Kids Can Press: The lives of Anneliese and her little brother Peter have been forever changed by the war. One day, while wandering the ruined streets of Munich in search of food, they stumble upon an exhibition. The great hall is filled with more books than they can count! There are books from all over the world, in all different languages."

What is going on here in Germany?  It is 1946 and the wonderful Jella Lepman has organised an amazing exhibition international children's books. Having seen the destruction wrought by the war on cities in Germany, Jella wisely sets about collecting children's books from all around the world. In 1936 Jella herself fled Germany with her two children. During the war books were removed from libraries, shops and homes. In 1945 Jella returned to her home country. She visited many places and people in Germany. In a conversation with a bookseller she recalls in her biography (A Bridge of Children's Dreams):

They "spoke with urgency about the people's hunger for books, especially books that were from the free world and banned to them for twelve years. 'And children's books?' I asked. 'Children's books? Oh, there aren't any of those left whatever. Those are more needed than all the others."

Jella then has the idea of creating an exhibition of children's books - books that would create "bridges of understanding." Jella wrote letters to twenty countries. In 1946 the exhibition of 4000 books travelled across Germany. 

"It was a beautiful, never-to-be-forgotten day, that July 3, 1946, especially in the afternoon when the doors opened wide to admit the children. In they streamed, in happy packs, their faces radiant as though they were entering a magic ring."

Are you wondering about the books? Jella asked the children vote for their favourites: Tom Sawyer; Huckleberry Finn; Emil and the Detectives; Heidi; and Pinocchio. Also mentioned in The Lady with the Books are Pippi Longstocking; Babar; Winnie the Pooh (see author's note); and The Story of Ferdinand.

Next, Jella set about finding a more permanent home for the books, thus the International Youth Library was established. In 1983 the library moved into Bluntenburg Castle where today you can find 30,000 books in the lending library and 600,000 books in the reference library which is used by scholars from all over the world.

IBBY   In 1951 Jella organised a conference and this led to the formation of IBBY - The International Board on Books for Young People. Today there are more than 75 countries with their own sections of IBBY including one here in Australia.

"It occurred to us that we might provide a common platform for all those interested in children's books, by holding a conference for such people as writers, illustrators, publishers, booksellers, librarians, educators, art teachers, psychiatrists" and representatives of the media - film, radio and television.

The Lady with the Books tells the story of that first exhibition. This is a book, as Dr Robin Morrow past President of IBBY Australia states, that should be an essential purchase for all school library collections. You can read more about IBBY Canada and their invitation to Kathy Stinson to write this important picture book. I especially love the way Kathy Stinson gently shows Jella Lepman's vision in action. At the start of the story Anneliese sees a group of women working to clean the streets in her neighbourhood. Compare these text extracts:

"Women were still clearing away chunks of broken buildings and pavement with brooms and their bare hands. Couldn't they see that the street would never be what it had been before the war?"

After visiting the library and hearing stories Anneliese thinks:

"Tomorrow, Anneliese decided, she would join the women with their brooms. She would help clear the street around the damaged library. Any maybe someday, the building would again be filled with books."

Read more about Jella Lepman ( the quotes in this post come from this book):

Marie Lafrance is the illustrator of another book I loved reading: