Ruurs, Margriet. 2005. My librarian is a camel: how books are brought to children around the world. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills Press, Inc.

The librarian is not truly a camel, but without the assistance of the camel, children in Kenya would not receive books as often as they do now. In My Librarian is a Camel, Margriet Ruurs applies research that began while reading a newspaper about the camel librarians that deliver books to children in Kenya. Ruurs includes 13 countries in her book, where librarians range from human beings who walk up to four hours to deliver books to children and families in Zimbabwe, to elephants who travel for eighteen to twenty days to deliver books to seven or eight villages in Thailand. Other countries such as Australia and Azerbaijan have bookmobiles that deliver books to villages—some even equipped with solar panels to power equipment used to access the Internet. Each section is specific to one country and includes photographs of the book deliverers as well as the children and families that receive the books. Each two-page spread also includes a map of the country, a picture of its flag, and geographical information about the country. The photographs are arranged in such a way as to draw readers’ eyes to the unusual ways that library books are delivered in other parts of the world. The informational text and photographs of children will encourage readers to celebrate the joy of reading and appreciate the closeness of their neighborhood or school library.

Twelve-year-old Hugo Cabret lives in the walls of a train station in Paris, where, unbeknownst to the stationmaster or the people moving through the station, he secretly repairs the clocks and keeps them in working order. Between working on the clocks, Hugo steals what he needs to survive and what he needs to work on his prize possession—an automaton that was discovered by his late father in the attic of the museum. When he is caught stealing toys that he needed to work on his project, Hugo’s secret takes on a life of its own when the history of the automaton comes to life with the help of Isabelle and Etienne, two characters he meets quite by accident. Brian Selznick’s incredible illustrations bring to mind early silent movies and the attention to detail in each of the one hundred and fifty-eight pictures add both depth and quality to his story. The pictures by Selznick are paired with actual photos of works by Georges Melies who appears as the unsung hero in the book. The black frame around each picture focuses readers’ attention on the exquisite detail in each drawing. The Invention of Hugo Cabret is a classic in the making that will make readers of all ages and genders cheer for the underdog and will leave them smiling with an ending that celebrates each of the “twenty-six thousand one hundred and fifty-nine words” written by Selznick.

White, E.B. Illustrated by Garth Williams. 1952. Charlotte’s web. New York: HarperCollins Children’s Books.

When Fern Arable rescues a runt pig from the realities of farm life, her father gives the piglet to her to raise. It is love at first sight between Wilbur and Fern until Wilbur grows too large and is sent to live at the Zuckermans’ farm. Wilbur learns to love his new life at the farm, until the day that he finds out what his future holds—a place of honor on the Zuckerman’s dinner table. Charlotte, a spider that lives in the barn with Wilbur is determined to save her friend and writes a series of messages in her web describing Wilbur as “Some Pig”, “Radiant” and “Humble”. The original illustrations by Garth Williams show the developing friendship between Wilbur and Charlotte, and give life to characters including Templeton the Rat, and the menagerie of animals that live on the Zuckermans’ farm. The illustrations, along with the touching story of friendship provided by White remind readers again and again that miracles can be seen anywhere, if only you will open your eyes and look.