The Book Without a Story by Carolina Rabei

This could be the perfect book to read to your younger groups in your school library at the beginning of the year. What do the children think happens to a library book when it is borrowed? Of course it has an adventure and then when the book is returned this adventure is shared with all the other library books.

I thought of the Bluey episode Bob Bilby Season One episode 12 called Bob Bilby where Bingo brings a class toy home and the family record Bob's weekend with the family. Following this idea and the one in A Book without a Story the children write an adventure for their library book - showing plenty of reading time and sharing!

Blurb from author page: When the library closes, and the last librarian has gone home to bed . . . the books come alive and tell stories of their adventures. But Dusty the book has never been borrowed and dreams of finding someone to share his story with . . .   Will he find his perfect reader?

Readers will find themselves wanting to hug a book after reading this story. Kirkus

Companion book:

Sorry Miss Folio

You can see more books by Carolina Rabei here. She lives in the UK. These three are especially worth hunting out plus Snow also by Walter de la Mare:

The Library of Ever by Zeno Alexander

“Do you swear to venture forth bravely and find the answer to any question, 

no matter the challenge?”

If you mashed together Alice in Wonderland and The Phantom Tollbooth you might come close to the plot of this book - such a wild ride. You will turn the pages so quickly as you read this book desperate to see if Lenora can survive all the mayhem.  

The only extra things I would have liked were a library map and perhaps a Dewey decimal chart showing all the library departments where Lenora was sent by the Chief Librarian Malachi. Lenora goes to the calendar room, the map room and the unknown room which actually has information about tardigrades, all the while she is being chased by the enemy who brings darkness. Along the way her status rises and she is awarded new badges. Lenora has to be very mindful of the library motto:

Knowledge is Light

Bookseller blurb: With her parents off traveling the globe, Lenora is bored, bored, bored until she discovers a secret doorway into the ultimate library. Maze like and reality-bending, the library contains all the universe's wisdom. Every book ever written, and every fact ever known, can be found within its walls. And Lenora becomes its newly appointed Fourth Assistant Apprentice Librarian. She rockets to the stars, travels to a future filled with robots, and faces down a dark nothingness that wants to destroy all knowledge. To save the library, Lenora will have to test her limits and uncover secrets hidden among its shelves.

In the chaos of this story there is also commentary on censorship, the role of libraries as providers of free information, the importance of curiosity, and of course the value of libraries as organised repositories of books, maps, charts, ephemera and so much more. Materials from everywhere and every time period.

"The Forces of Darkness wish to control people, and it is every knowledge that prevents them from doing so. ... They can only rule where there is ignorance, they can only create fear where the truth has been hidden, they can only gain power when the light has been snuffed out. Librarians are their greatest enemy, and we have fought them throughout time, and always will fight them as long as that light burns anywhere, no matter how weakly."

I may not have kept reading this book actually because it all became a little too silly for me but then I took a detour last night and glanced at the Kirkus review. Such is the power of their work that the star they gave The Library of Ever spurred me on to stick with this story although I am not so sure I need to read the sequel. I did enjoy Lenora's common sense, determination, perseverance, and her amazing general knowledge. She certainly adapted well to the roles of Assistant Apprentice Librarian and later Assistant Librarian. 

There are moments in this story that made me smile:

"The tardigrade snarled. 'As far as we tardigrades are concerned, Pluto is and always will be a planet. end of discussion. ...Lenora saw no reason to argue. She had always thought that Pluto seemed like a perfectly fine planet, whatever the adults might tell her. She took out her notebook. Pluto is, always will be, a planet. This she underlined firmly."

"I would like to know,' she said, 'how to find Wales.' 'You've found them,' said the whale. 'We are in fact, beluga whales.' 'Oh,' said Lenora. 'I mean Wales, the place, not whales, the mammal. 'Hmph' replied the whale ... And I suppose you think that just because I am a whale, a mammal, that I automatically know the location of Wales, the place?"

Not the first tale to be set in a universal library but unusually clever in the details and commendably accurate in its own way. Kirkus Star review

At its heart, The Library of Ever is a love letter to librarians and an ode to the importance of access to knowledge and information for everyone. The Winged Pen

Here is a fun interview with the author and the web page for Zeno Alexander. I picked up my copy of The Library of Ever at a recent charity book sale for $2. This book was published in 2019 but it is still available as is the sequel:

Bookseller blurb: Lenora returns to the magical Library—which holds every book ever known on its shelves. But she discovers the Library is under new management, its incredible rooms and corridors turned sinister and oppressive. Lenora quickly connects with a secret resistance that’s trying to free knowledge from the darkness threatening it. Her new friends introduce her to an ancient lost city, hang-gliding, and mathematical beings larger than the universe itself.

Companion books:

The 113th Assistant Librarian

Lost in a Book

The Lost History

Escape from Mr Lemoncello's Library

The Lost Library

The Phantom Tollbooth

Dreading the impossible question

Several times over the Christmas period at social gatherings I was asked a question which I dread. It is expressed in different ways - "What is your favourite book?", "What was the best book you read this year?", "What are your top three books?", "Do you have a favourite classic picture book?" and so on.

IMPOSSIBLE! - Would it be easier if this question specified a genre or age range or format? Picture Book; Junior novel; Middle Grade novel; funny book; realistic fiction; historical fiction; fantasy; published in 2025; or Australian?

NO this is still an impossible question. In 2025 I blogged over 450 titles. For every book I blogged I probably read 3-5 others so that's over 1000 books read in just one year (and that is a conservative figure). In total I am getting close to 4100 blog posts between 2008 and the present and I began my serious reading of kids' books back in 1983 so there are tons more titles I could talk about. I do give star ratings sometimes, but I admit to being a big inconsistent with this and anyway that would still be quite a long list of just five-star titles, not just the one or two titles as demanded by the people asking these questions. (Who by the way probably don't know much about kids' books at all even the ones who are actual parents and do read to their own children). I wonder what their favourite books are - adult books or kids' books.

To add to this, at one function I was also asked what makes a good/great picture book. Of course, that is a PhD topic but I mumbled something about fabulous illustrations that extend beyond the text, rich vocabulary, satisfying stories that invite re-reading, and picture books (for older kids) that leave you thinking long after the last page is turned. 

I imagine the people asking the questions above, think that reading kids books is a small field - little do they know that there are so many possibilities from board books, to non fiction, and books in interesting formats (read about 1 is for One), and award winners, and verse novels, and complex dystopian stories not to mention steam punk! I could go on and on.

In response and exasperation, I did share these book covers on Instagram as a sample of books I loved in 2025 (note not all were actually published in 2025 and only a few are Australian - I should have put a few more). You can pop any of these titles into my search bar for further details:

Best ones in this bunch not to be missed are Growing Home and Then and Now

Best ones in this bunch not to be missed would be The Same Stuff as Stars and Wolf Siren

Best ones in this bunch would be Magnolia Wu unfolds it all, Dawn and One Day

Best ones in this bunch Busted and The Ones that disappeared 

but also try to find the series by Jason Reynolds

Best ones in this bunch Water Water, The Wrong Way Home and The final Year

Best ones in this bunch Not Nothing and Ruby on the outside

Do I have a favourite book? No - I have tons of favourites. Here are a some of books I always mention but really this is just a drop in an enormous ocean:

Australian Picture Book by Bob Graham - I suggest reading all of his books

Dimity Dumpty

Canadian Picture Book

Shelter

US Middle Grade Novel - look for other books by Katherine Applegate

I want adults to read this too

Wishtree

It is almost impossible to select one Kate DiCamillo book but you could begin with this one

Because of Winn Dixie

Classic book that I have read over and over

Sarah, Plain and Tall

CBCA Picture Book of the Year here in Australia in 2023

My Strange Shrinking Parents

I have adored every book by UK author Katherine Rundell but this one still haunts me

Wolf Wilder

One of my favourite childhood books along with others by Rumer Godden 

and The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Gouge.

Favourite animal series

Poppy by Avi

A terrific animal, fantasy, quest series

The Legend of Podkin One-Ear

If you know me at all you would expect me to share this one!

Puffling by Margaret Wild

If you want to experience fantastic writing look for these books by Glenda Millard 

beginning with The Naming of Tishkin Silk

I think this is the book that started my love affair with Verse Novels - and I am still smiling and celebrating that Sharon Creech herself commented on my blog post!

Love that dog

I can recite this little treasure - as a read-aloud it has it all - voices, funny moments, 

jam tarts and a glorious happy ending.

Jeremiah in the Dark Woods

As a teacher this is probably where it all began - my discovery of the absolute joy of reading a book to a group of student every single day - I thank the unknown person who included this little book on an old typed list of books to read to Grade 2 or 3. I read this aloud to over 1000 kids from 1984 to 2017.

The Amazing Adventures of Chilly Billy

On the upside - if you have read right to the end of this rant - I did meet a little girl aged 9 at a Christmas function who told me some of her own favourite books and then I was able to share a heap of great book covers with her mum. Hopefully they will hunt for some of these in their school or local library - that was way more satisfying than answering or in my case not feeling able to answer the impossible question - so what is your favourite book!

The 113th Assistant Librarian: Lost in a Book by Stuart Wilson

You will jump right into the action at the start of this book as Oliver battles with a giant crab that has escaped from 'The Diving Bell Expeditions of Grace AEthwell'. Page 173 is blank but the caption reads 'mammoth spider crab'. Oliver needs to catch this huge creature and wrangle it back into the book.

"To be fair, being attacked by a giant crab in a library was something he would never have believed before he took up the mantle of librarian. Or rather, assistant librarian, due to the untimely death of the librarian, Hieronymus Finch-Thackeray."

After all this drama things do settle down but only for a short while because a junior lawyer named Phoebe arrives from the firm Wolfsähnlich, Lithic & Lithic. One of their clients has died and left his enormous book collection. 

"A voluminous collection of books, in fact. And now that a grant of probate has been issued to the executor, the time has come to divest the estate and all chattels therein."

I love the word used to describe this type of collecting by the late Phillip Thomas - bibliomania. So Oliver visits the house and he begins to sort and cull the collection with help from his friend Agatha. We met Agatha in the first book but just in case you have forgotten she has a dreadful and potentially fatal illness Garnet Band Fever. To prolong her life she transforms into nine cats but she can only do this within the confines of the library and it is dangerous for her to spend too long in her human form. The cats are named Fennex, Arawn, Grey Reaper, Tailless, Harmony, Sentinel, Clod and two others Oliver has not yet named. 

Agatha is a huge fan of the crime writer Enid B. B. Weathers but when she reads or re-reads a few pages from her book Murder of Masons, she discovers the story has been changed. This sets Oliver and Agatha on a book hunt - and yes they discover other books that seemed to be changed. This might not matter too much, perhaps they are earlier editions, but then they find a very significant book - 'War, A History of the Alpin Conflict' by M.W. Ebberdew.  If this other edition is correct then the border between Hallarum and the Shrouded Alps is in the wrong place - this could lead to anther dreadful war. What can Oliver and Agatha do? And oh no the dreadful Annabel Clowritch, the Member for Upper-Lower Tumbledown Barrows has heard about this book and she is determined to read it and gain control over the remote regions that she is sure now belong to Hallarum. 

Here are some text fragments that will give all Teacher-Librarians and librarians in general a smile moment:

"Oliver glanced at the spies closest to him, quickly surmising that there was little in the way of a system. He spotted fiction next to poetry, plays rubbing shoulders with cookbooks."

"even the patrons couldn't sour his mood when they interrupted him ... to say things like, 'Must be nice to have a job where you can sit around all day and read.'"

"Trying to appear nonchalant, he slid a book onto the shelf (despite the fact it was in the wrong section, doing an injury to his librarian soul)."

"The brilliance of a book was that it was always there, waiting to be read, at a time that was convenient."

"He removed his satchel and jacket before slipping the bandolier on over his shirt. He checked that the two stamps and the bookmark were in their pouches and that they were closed securely. He was, after all, going on official librarian business."

I talked about the inventive book titles created by Stuart Wilson in the first book and also the way his writing employs such a rich vocabulary - this book has these same wonderful qualities. I learnt the word 'lambrequins' for example. Also, I loved the care and concern Oliver shows for his friend Agatha. AND it was wonderful to meet Oliver's sisters once again - a couple of them play very important roles in this latest adventure. 

Publisher blurb: Oliver has settled into his life as the 113th assistant librarian. He loves his job – even though it sometimes includes battling giant crabs or fending off firedrakes – and his new friend, the mostly-human Agatha, is always on hand to help. But when he discovers a rare edition of a history book with unique wording, he realises the slightest misinterpretation could endanger the entire kingdom. Determined to solve this mystery, he and Agatha leave the library – with the help of an unpredictable transporting book – to establish the truth. But can they prevent Annabel Clowritch, the esteemed Member for Upper-Lower Tumbledown Barrows, from using the text to her own advantage . . . and stop a war?

Once again, it’s an adventure like no other and filled with humour, surprises, and the successful victory of the underdogs. AND it’s all to do with libraries and books, and the librarians who take their guardianship with all due seriousness. Just so Stories

This is a mystery adventure full of whimsy and risky moments. ... It does assume a reasonable reading skill and enjoyment of fantasy and references to library organisation and some historical, geographical or scientific detail may stretch some younger readers, but will thrill adept readers. ...  I loved the first book in this series, and the second is equally enthralling. Read Plus

Wilson has lots of fun with book titles, the worlds to be found within books and the power of the written word, all of which makes this a not just another ordinary adventure but a story with some thought provoking themes. He certainly gets very creative and inventive with the magic of books. It is great to see Oliver outside the library but still engaged in serious book business. Storylinks

Lost in a Book is the second title in the series the 113th Assistant Librarian. You do need to read the first book to understand the world of this book and to meet the two main characters - Oliver Wormwood and his best friend Agatha. I don't usually read sequels or continue a series unless I really loved the first installment - and yes I did love it  - five stars from me. 

The 113th Assistant Librarian

I am still wondering why oh why the first book didn't make the 2025 CBCA Younger Readers Book of the Year notables. And sadly I know this second one - Lost in a Book - is not eligible because it does not stand alone (although this rule seems to be quite flexible because seven of the 2025 notables were from a series!).

Readers aged 10+ are sure to enjoy Lost in a Book (you could gift the two books from this series as Christmas presents) but at the end they might feel a little bereft and in need of another similarly adventurous story so I would suggest these:

The Phantom Tollbooth

Escape from Mr Lemoncello's library

The Lost History (second book in a series)

The Strange Worlds Travel Agency

The Lost Library

Once I was a tree by Eoin McLaughlin illustrated by Guilherme Karsten

The cover of this book actually says: written by a book (with help from Eoin LcLaughlin) so right away you might guess this will be a funny book and that it is sure to 'break the fourth wall'. Then turn inside and read the dedications - "Dedicated to the book that the tree became GK" "Dedicated to the tree I used to be - The Book." Now take some time to read all the fun annotations on the imprint page. For example, the text says the paper is made from wood grown in sustainable forests and our narrator comments - "that's tree-mendous news".  Beside the illustrator name the narrator adds "his trees are 10/10". And the comment about the publisher name which is Nosy Crow is hilarious. Oh, and do look under the dust jacket but maybe do this after you read this book. Also run your fingers over the cover to feel the texture. There are so many terrific design features to explore in Once I was a tree. 

Now onto the first page:

"Once I was a tree. I wasn't just any old tree. I was a pine tree. I was tall, green and handsome. Don't believe me? Just take a look!"

The illustration shows a photo frame image of our tree as he used to be. Have you guessed what is about to happen? Well first you need to go on the journey from seed to tree via a squirrel's bottom (yes I did say bottom) and some assistance from Barbara the dung beetle. Trees are so tall, especially pine trees, that you will need to turn the book sideways to see its full size. 

Everything goes along happily until one day when someone chops the tree down. 

Oh no "I know. I was fuming."

But all is not lost. The wood is milled and turned into paper and that paper becomes a book - yes this book!

"I'm not tall, or green. But I'm still handsome. And I still smell good. Go on. Smell me!"

This book was published in 2025 (just a couple of days ago on 6th May) and the beautifully designed hardcover edition is a very good price here in Australia. Add this book to your school library and then read it to a group of your young library visitors - they are sure to be chuckling and also amazed. 

Bookseller blurb: Get ready to meet Barbara the beetle and Derek the squirrel who (through the power of poo) help a wise-cracking seed turn into a handsome tree . . . and become a wonderful book! And GUESS WHAT? It's the book that you're holding! A book to be loved, shared and cherished forever. Perfect for fans of Jon Klassen and Oliver Jeffers. Tactile jacket cover with a surprise underneath! Have fun with turn-around pages.

Guilherme Karsten was born and lives in Blumenau, southern Brazil. He studied Advertising and Graphic Design and started his illustration career in animation and fashion industry. In 2010, he illustrated his first children’s book. Since then he’s illustrated more than 30 books from Brazilian and international authors. Leading him to start writing himself and in 2017, “The Ride!”, his first book as an author & illustrator, won the honorable mention at the 2017 Serpa International Picture Book Prize (Planeta Tangerina, Portugal). Take a look at his art. 

Tate Publishing 2020

I previously talked about this book by Eoin McLaughlin:

The Case of the Missing Cake

Companion book:

The Great Paper Caper

Finding books in a library

 

I am working on an IBBY project which involves reading around 140 Australian children's books in order to select one for inclusion on the prestigious IBBY Honour Book list for Illustration.

Here are some past Australian inclusions on this list (for illustration). You can see all previous Honour books here.

Prior to visiting a local public library here in Sydney I reviewed my list and checked the library catalogue for the 77 books that I have not yet read. Of the seventy-seven, forty-eight were held in the library. I was pleased (in some ways) to see twenty-four of these were out on loan. So, I was prepared to spend a few hours reading twenty-four titles from my list.

Now comes my problem. I did not expect the picture books to be easy to locate. Most public libraries here in Australia do not shelve using the book call numbers for picture books. It is all a bit strange because they do go to the trouble to label their books for example E for Picture Book followed by the first four letters of the author's surname so we have E HARR for a book written by Pip Harry. Even though the picture books are not shelved in formal alphabetical order, this library do at least keep them in surname groups - a shelf and bin for A surnames, and B surnames etc. So, I was able to locate nearly all the picture books I wanted although this did take a fairly long time because of this 'disorganised' shelving system. In the end there were only two that I just could not find even though the catalogue told me they were available.

The nonfiction is where this all fell apart. This library does use the Dewey Decimal System - and that is great because I am, as you would expect, completely familiar with this BUT they do not shelve using these labels. The books are put into subject sections which can contain many Dewey Numbers. This is not exactly gentrification but that is the term you might use. Dewey is designed to bring books on a subject together, so I am utterly confused as to why the library has set out their nonfiction in this way. Remember, I did review their online catalogue prior to my visit. Nine of the twenty-four books on my list were nonfiction. When I recorded their call numbers at home I did not realise I needed to add a subject. I thought it would be easy to find [578.47] but alas no. This is a book about animal camouflage. I should have recorded more than the Dewey number - I need to know it was on the shelf of books with the label animals.  The whole nonfiction collection for children in this library is just one short row with four or five book bays but it is almost impossible to quickly locate books using data from the catalogue. A kind staff member did offer to help me but she needed to check the catalogue herself to find the subject label and also view the book cover. I am a trained Teacher-Librarian with over 35 years of experience - I would not have expected to need help locating books in a library. 

To add to this confusion the library also has a classification for Easy Nonfiction and these ARE shelved in Dewey order. Actually, I sighed with relief when I went to this shelving bay. 

I wonder:

1. Do uses/children or adults check the library catalogue? Apparently the adult nonfiction is also shelved with this system.

2. Are library patrons borrowing the children's nonfiction? Do the staff review usage statistics?

3. Do young users simply browse these shelves? Is that their preference?

4. Is anyone monitoring the effectiveness of this arrangement? I was fairly patient but I almost gave up when I just couldn't find a book I needed about trees. 

5. Have they noticed an increase in requests for help with locating books?