Book #23 - The Boy Who Was Raised by Librarians

"He wanted to know a little...no...a lot about everything."

Title: The Boy Who Was Raised by Librarians

Author: Carla Morris

Illustrator: Brad Sneed

Publisher: Peachtree Publishers

Date of Publication:2007

Genre: Fiction

Readability Lexile: Not Found

Summary:

Melvin says that he lives in the Livingston Public Library... but he really just spends a lot of time there. He loves learning and he loves the library for so many different reasons; the order, the  books, the events, but most of all he loved the librarians. The three librarians that he knew the best were Marge, Betty, and Leeola. They helped with with all kinds of research questions, find resources on the topics he was interested in, and even helped him classify his bug collected and prepare for his role in the school play. 

Melvin grows throughout this book from a first grader to an adult and these three librarians stay by his side and become like family to him. We find out at the end of the story that Melvin decided to become a librarian too! Melvin say numerous times in this story, "That's just how librarians are." as he outlines the things that Marge, Betty, Leeola, and all other librarians do to make the library an amazing place to learn!

Evaluation: 

This is a very touching story, especially for someone who works in a library. I liked this story because all the things that might seem stereotypical of librarians in this story are just plain true. They really do love helping people learn and find resources to make that learning fun. Plus, this book is written by a librarian therefore the librarians and library are accurate depictions of the career of a librarian. The characters in this story were very like-like and realistic. By the end of the story you could easily talk about each of their personalities because the author does a nice job of developing the characters in such a short story. Melvin doesn't go through any really huge problems in this story but he works through many wonders and questions he has with the librarians. The events that take place in this story are also realistic; I could see this actually happening in real life. The setting of this story is really important and it the Livingston Public Library. Melvin spends so much of his life in the library so it good to describe and illustrate an authentic looking library that would be a place that someone would want to spend their time. The author doesn't use an offensive language in this story. This book would most interest kindergartners through fourth graders.

Literary Elements:

1. Theme: I think the theme of this story is that learning, wondering, and questions is super important in life but the people who help you to learn, wonder, and question are sometimes more important. The librarians, teachers, parents, friends who help us through life with the questions we have really do add so much to our lives and learning.

2. Setting: The setting of this story is very crucial to this story because the author must create a place that a little boy would like to spend a lot of his time. The Livingston Public Library looks like a typical ordered library but has cool things like the Reading Castle where children can go to read and use their imagination and fish tank to help questions and wonders grow. The librarian help to create this learning rich space for children. They are always there to help with questions. The illustrations show the library as a cozy, happy place full of color!
3. Plot: The plot of this story comes full circle by the end. It starts out with a little curious boy who loved to learn and loved the library and the librarians who worked there. In the end the little boy becomes a librarian at the same library. It is fun to see Melvin in 1st grade grow into the adult at the end of the story.

Illustrations:

The illustrations of this story are really cool! They are full of color, awesome facial expressions, and they help to tell the story and extend the meaning of the text. One can see the different personalities of the three librarians and Melvin just by looking at their faces in the pictures. The author does a nice job of aging Melvin over the years. We are able to see the differences in his physical appearance from page to page as he grows up. You can also see the love and excitement that the librarians have for Melvin as he grows and accomplishes the many different things in his life.

Mini-Lesson Idea:

I would use this book to teach about the idea of loving to learn and finding those in your life that will help you learn, ask questions, and wonder about life and the world around you. I would also use this book to teach a plot that comes full circle by the end. Students can develop they own stories and link the conclusion back to something important from the beginning or middle of the story. This helps to sum up the story and makes the story more meaningful.