Save the library, Save the world!

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for the magical ‘The Dragon in the Library.’

To say that Kit is not the biggest fan of reading would be an understatement. As far as she concerned there is nothing worse than being stuck inside a dusty old library having to be silent. She would much rather be outside climbing trees and getting muddy. It is a testament to the strength of her friendship with Josh and Alita (her two best friends) that she is prepared to visit a library with them to snag a copy of a highly anticipated book.

Forced to go to an unfamiliar library due to the closure of their regular one, the children are surprised to meet Head Librarian, Faith. Who is also a wizard! As is Kit! They only discover this after Kit is sucked into a book about dangerous animals and has a rather close encounter with a black mamba!

When the children discover that Faith, as a wizard, has been entrusted to guard a dragon who slumbers under the library, they can hardly believe it. But the library is under threat of closure by Mr. Salt who seems intent on building a shopping centre on the site.

Can the children mount a campaign to save the library and save the sleeping dragon at the same time? More than that, they might just be able to save the world!

Dragons and libraries are a dream combination. Throw in some wizards and a liberal sprinkle of magic and you’ve got pretty much the perfect book to entice those readers aged 7+ to dip their toes into the world of chapter books. The eye-catching neon-highlighted cover and brilliant illustrations by Davide Ortu filling the pages help bring the magical world and characters created by Louie Stowell to life for the reader.

I loved that the main protagonist, Kit, was not your typical book-lover (unlike her book-geek friends who I strongly identified with!) She is just the right balance of spiky,  funny, impatient and headstrong to make her a truly delightful character and an unlikely saviour of a public library. Head Librarian, Faith, was also a breath of fresh air – a world away from the stuffy, fuddy-duddy stereotype of a librarian which is often found in stories. She also confirmed what I always suspected: librarians are a little bit magic and gatekeepers to unimaginable and fantastical worlds.

It’s worth noting that the story also features a cast of BAME characters where their ethnicity is of no consequence to the story whatsoever. We need to see more of this in children’s literature. All children deserve to see themselves represented in the books they read.

The ‘Save The Library’ campaign organised by the children cleverly ties-in with the current concern and outcry about the closure of public libraries and the lack of school librarians. A cause we need to get our children passionate about or we will get to a point where there are no properly staffed or funded libraries in the future for them to use.

The first title in a brand new series; I can’t wait to see what Louie has planned next!

Library Girl.

*Thank you to Nosy Crow for inviting me to be part of this blog tour. Make sure you visit the other stops too!*