The monumental influence of an attentive librarian

On a farm near Union City, Michigan young Patricia Polacco’s Grandpa helps her learn how to appreciate birds and care for their habitats. Then the farm is sold, and Patricia and her brother must move to nearby Battle Creek with their mother, while Grandpa must move to Indiana. Patricia worries there will be no birds in the city, but Grandpa assures her that birds can fly everywhere.

One day Patricia is walking home from school in her new neighborhood and notices many fancy houses. She is shocked to discover a building even more wondrous – tall and stately, adorned with giant pillars and front with regal stone lions on huge pedestals. When she learns from her mother that this royal-looking building is the Willard Library, she is astonished.

Based on author Patricia Polacco’s childhood, Palace of Books captures her introduction to Mrs. Creavy, a life-changing librarian. She recognizes Patricia’s love for books and birds and allows her to read about John James Audubon’s paintings in the library’s private collection.

Patricia is filled with joy when her own paintings of birds are featured in her class’s art show and the students are given memberships in the Audubon bird club. Though she is having acute difficulty with her reading skills – later in life, she is diagnosed with dyslexia, dysnomia, dysgraphia and a failure of sensory integration – she makes a valuable contribution to her school community.

In author’s notes, Polacco notes that the Audubon club went on for sixty more years. “None of it would have happened if I had not discovered the wonder of that magnificent palace of books . . . and Mrs. Creavy, of course.”

A celebration of nature and art, this beautifully illustrated children’s picture book portrays the life-altering, monumental influence of an attentive librarian who encourages a child’s nascent gift.