Sunday, January 8, 2012

Nicholas at the library by Hazel Hutchins illustrated by Ruth Ohi

A few things happened when I read (re read actually I bought this book in Canada in 1994 and my copy has an author signature) this book. Firstly I have been thinking about the culling or weeding we recently did in our school library. While I know we need space and bulging shelves are not attractive I also hate the idea of removing gems from our collection. While I was thinking about this I heard a radio program about the culling that recently occurred in a University library. The speaker described how libraries are places where it is fun to simply discover things. If everything is in a stack or only available if you know the title then you cannot serendipitously stumble upon treasures. His arguments related to research but I think this is equally true for fiction and for young library users.

This is the process described in Nicholas at the Library. Nicholas and the head librarian randomly search through the library discovering all sorts of wild tales.

Nicholas is not keen on the library at all. He loves to build forts so while his mother is occupied in a different part of the library, Nicholas piles up books from the A, J and O sections. As he moves twelve books from the O section he spies a little chimpanzee “the kind that could ride in a pencil case or bathe in a cereal bowl.” Nicholas tell his mother but she takes no interest, he tells the check-out man but he cannot deal with items that do not have a book card so finally Nicholas tracks down the head librarian.

She is sitting on a pile of books on top of her desk reading a book. What a delightful image. The head librarian immediately recognizes that this is a lost story-kind of chimpanzee. She shows Nicholas a magic ring and together they embark on a wild adventure through the pages of books like Robinson Crusoe, Goldilocks, and more. “They raced through Christmas books. They climbed mountains and drove trucks and rode in covered wagons. They sailed through ocean books. They sped through books of colour and shape. They traversed whole alphabets and went to bed 127 times. Some books felt scary the moment Nicholas jumped into them, and others were like a hot summer day, or a song, or the smell of pepper.

It seems they might not be able to find the right book in time. Nicholas even wonders if the book they need has been checked out or discarded! Naturally enough they do find the right book which they then settle down to read together. Thank goodness it had not been discarded.

6 comments:

Hazel Hutchins said...

I smiled broadly as I read this post.

When I was a teenager, I discovered so many wonderful books by wandering through the library stacks, pulling books out at random and taking them home to see what magic they held. It was the early 1960's and the books in the local library were mostly aged hardcovers without adornment or paper dust jackets. The covers were a solid, plan colour with only the title and author printed on the spine. No reviews. No hint of what it might hold.

But ohhhh … how quickly one knew when one stumbled upon a gem. Many of them had been sitting there for years and years, forgotten but not discarded. One of the main reasons I became a writer, I think, is because of the way in which I was allowed to discover so much great literature simply by wandering the stacks. (The other main reason is the love of literature my parents passed on to me. Hurrah for people who love to read!)

I still wander the stacks at my local library. I pick up books at random... fiction and non fiction, science, literature, biology, physics, thriller, mysteries. The unexpected discoveries enrich my world, and my writing, in so many ways.

Thank you for including Nicholas at the Library in your blog. It is so lovely to see it used in such an interesting manner, many years after publication, and on the other side of the globe.

Best regards
Hazel Hutchins
Canmore, Alberta, Canada

Hazel Hutchins said...

Thank you for including "Nicholas at the Library" in your blog. It is so lovely to see it used in such an interesting manner, many years after publication, and on the other side of the globe.


I still enjoy wandering the stacks at my local libary. The unexpected discoveries in the books I find there standing side by side - the new, the gently aged and the old but not discarded - enrich my world, and my writing, in so many ways.


Best regards
Hazel Hutchins
Canmore, Alberta, Canada

Hazel Hutchins said...

Thank you for including Nicholas at the Library in your blog. It is lovely to see it used in such an interesting manner, many years after publication, and on the other side of the globe.

I still wander the stacks at my local library. The books I find there standing side by side – the new, the nearly new and the old but not discarded – enrich my world, and my writing, in so many ways.

Best regards
Hazel Hutchins
Canmore, Alberta, Canada

Momo said...

Thanks for this comment Hazel. I did meet you in 1994 I lived in Sundre Alberta on teacher exchange for a year. Not sure where you signed my book but you did!!

Momo said...

Hazel I should also say a BIG thank you for commenting on my blog I get such a thrill when I hear from a real author!

Hazel Hutchins said...

I remember you! When I realized you were blogging from Australia a little switch went "click" in my memory and I thought "is it possible?" It is possible! Lovely to connect with you again. I've put a link to your blog on my facebook account and I know others have already enjoyed dropping by. Cheers!