Before she was a famous TV host, public speaker, and part of NPR's Morning Edition, Nancy (Linn) Pearl was a goung girl who loved reading more than recess. Although she was teased by the kids at school and called "library girl," she found her happy place in books. This lovely picture book biography shows how the nurturing affection of librarians helped young Nancy develop self-confidence and set her on the career path to becoming America's best-known librarian. Delightful illustrations bring to life a young Nancy in pigtails who loves horses almost as much as she loves books. Details such as her turned-up blue jeans and saddle shoes, as well as the neighborhood milkman, firmly establish the setting of 1950s Detroit. Scenes in blue show what Nancy is reading about or imagining, and then as the illustrations follow Nancy into adulthood, the blue scenes also show what other readers are visualizing. An author's note gives more details about Nancy's career and a list of her awards, books, and special regonition. There are also photos of Nancy as a child, a librarian, and even the action figure modeled on her.

Perfect for elementary school libraries and classroom collections, this story offers a role model for other kids who love reading. Publication date is set for September 13, 2022.

One of my favorite female role models - is Nancy Pearl. I was so excited to read this children's book as for someone like myself who loves books and as a child loved to read and felt like the odd one and even to this day I often do with my reading. This book starts with young Nancy Pearl learning about her public library and reading all the books she loves and finding new adventures. During the book too, she gets the opportunity to do a public library talk on Horses. She is nervous and thinks no one will turn up but a large group does and from then on, Nancy finds herself with a group of friends and can chat books with all those people which sparks her passion for becoming a librarian herself and the Queen of Readers Advisory. As someone myself, I pride myself in Readers Advisory and love Nancy Pearl. One of my prized possessions is a Nancy Pearl Librarian Superhero doll that I was sent from the US in a Reddit gift exchange. Karen Henry Clark's book Library Girl is the perfect read for all females aged 5-10 years who also dream of one day becoming a librarian themselves.

This book was sweet and I liked that it was based on a true story. However, I do have concerns about the main character randomly catching a ride with the milkman. It never specified whether her parents knew him and we shouldn’t teach kids to catch rides with anyone. Other than that, it was so lovely!

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

My hundredth book read in 2022!

What are the odds that the title I picked happened to be about one of the most prolific librarians ever!!

She is such a heroine in the library world, she actually is the inspiration for a librarian action figure... I kid you not.

https://mcphee.com/products/librarian-action-figure

Quiet bookworm, gets bullied, discovers library, gains confidence all through the kindness of other librarians, then decides to be the best librarian ever.

You have to read this. Love it.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A cute story for young readers. I loved the expression of emotion in this story and how the character grows throughout the book. As someone who was also a young bookworm- I related to Nancy and wish I had had a similar experience to her. As a librarian, I appreciated the representation of librarians in the story and found myself feeling very endeared to them. The story was not only practical, but I also enjoyed the imagination and whimsy in the story too. I highly recommend this for all young book lovers!

📚 This is a sweet, dreamy, beautifully illustrated children’s book about finding your purpose in a library.

📚 In the story, a little girl is picked on by her peers for loving books. She finds solace in the public library with help from some attentive and helpful librarians. They encourage the young girl to read everything that interests her. They also encourage her to tell others about what she learns. Ultimately the librarians build her self-confidence and inspire her to become a librarian herself.

📚 The girl in the story is well-known American librarian Nancy Pearl. She was named Librarian of the Year in 2011 and even has her own action figure! I encourage you to google her to read about her career and her love of books and libraries.

📚 While the book was positive in every way, and promoted the benefits of reading and libraries, I do wish it would have included just a little bit more about the path Nancy took to become a librarian within the actual story. The ending felt a bit disconnected from the rest of the story for me. There is an Author’s Note that provides some extra info, but I would have preferred some of that in the story itself.

📚 Even with my personal nitpick about the ending, this book is definitely worth reading! I recommend it to parents, teachers, and librarians to help promote the wonder of books and libraries.

Thank you @NetGalley and @SasquatchBooks @lbfbooks for an eARC of this book, which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Splendid illustrations show the early days in the life of this librarian, who apparently is of such global note she's got action figures (kind of) in her image, copious awards for her librarian work and bookselling, and has lent her name to the digital librarian in the National Library of Norway. The story as told here doesn't quite hang together, however – all of a sudden she's gone from a quiet, bookish child often picked on for being quiet and bookish, to the darling of the staff at her local municipal library, to giving public talks about her favourite horse books. I'm sure even the target audience will see there are gaps in that telling, which isn't much longer on the page than in my summary.

It's annoying to give negative comment to a book that clearly wants us all to love books and libraries and librarians, and clearly wants to be loved by all librarians in return. So let's go back to those visuals, which really prettily convey the pastel world of Nancy's childhood, and easily fit into showing us her dream world. For Nancy's mind evokes all the characters of her reading and all her fantasy life to us in vivid blue and sparkly white form, including Charger, the name of the horse she pretends her pushbike actually is. This evocation of an imagination will live long in the memory, even if I can't declare the text does everything it needed to. Flawless visuals in all their beauty just about push this to four stars.

Okay, I will admit my bias. I am a librarian and I already knew that Nancy Pearl is a neat lady. With that said, this is a lovely picture book about Nancy's childhood and the way libraries and librarians helped her find a way to belong. The illustrations are particularly charming, especially when depicting Nancy's imagination. Perfect for the 1st-3rd grade bookworms in your life, especially those with a special interest they'd love to share with others.

Wow! This book really reminded me of myself as a child; I was more interested in "playing librarian" than with playing with dolls. I made a paper mache horse head for my bike one year and rode it in the neighborhood parade. This book took me down a wonderful memory lane. Thank you!

The illustrations throughout Library Girl were beautiful! and the wording was perfect!

Loved that the author/Karen Henry Clark was also from the Detroit area.

A perfect children's book and one that I plan to purchase for my niece and nephew.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to review the advance read copy in exchange for an honest review, to Karen Henry Clark the author and to Sasquatch Books, Little Bigfoot the publisher. Publication date is 13 September 2022.

Book received for free through NetGalley

I read the kindle pre-released copy of this book so the images were a bit cut up and helter skelter. That said both me and my girls loved it. It was informative and a fun read. My seven year old says she "It’s one of the best books ever!” while my five year old went with the more simplistic "I love it a lot. ”. I could see it being a short book to read before jumping into a bigger research assignment. The photos were adorably cute.

This book was very cute. It made me feel seen as a young child who always loved reading, and as a young adult who wants to become a librarian. I think it’s a great book for children to read with their parents.

Grateful to have received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley & Sasquatch Books.

A story so dear to my heart! Any true bibliophile (book lover) will recognize and connect to the main character, Nancy’s passion for books and libraries. I love that this book is based on a heroic women who dared to persevere despite her classmates picking on her about her love of book, and became a librarian. I can’t imagine the world without librarians.

The amazing and colorful illustrations match what has always been in my heart and mind, but I have been unable to put on paper. I felt pure joy seeing my feeling about books and libraries as a sanctuary for books lovers to escape.

Kids of literally all ages will enjoy this tale…and hopefully run to their local libraries to take out a stack of books and READ.

I really loved the look into our librarian as a young child. I liked seeing that books helped bring out her confidence.
A sweet book about librarians and books and how they make a difference.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!

Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. This was such an adorable children's book. I wouldve loved it when I was a kid. The illustrations are great as well. It totally gave me "Page Master" vibes.

Children will be drawn to Nancy Pearl’s fear of the lack of acceptance from classmates. Sharing Nancy’s story of how her love of reading allowed her to find acceptance is inspiring and could inspire children to become readers. Her positive interactions with the public librarians was transformational in Nancy’s life. Not only will I purchase this book, but it will hold a place of honor with my Nancy Pearl doll. Thank You, #NetGalley!!!

This was such a great book about how Nancy Pearl became a librarian. She loved books, but the other kids were not very nice about her love of books. She overcomes her fear of talking about books with other kids and it leads to her future career as a librarian. The illustrations in the book were gorgeous and added so much to the story.

Thanks to Netgalley and Little Bigfoot for a free digital copy.

"Girl discovers books, then discovers life." Nancy Pearl the library who is the subject of this delightful book, wrote that about herself when challenged to write a 6 word memoir. That sentiment is celebrated through this beautiful story full of gorgeous illustrations and a stunning tale of books and librarians instilling a new sense of self in a very self-conscious little girl.

Nancy is a young girl who loves to read—a delightful activity—but the children at her school seem to find the habit crude & boring; teasing her whenever they see her carrying books, or lost within the pages of a story. I cannot say that I ever encountered such treatment alongside my love of reading but I can certainly appreciate delving head-first into the complexities of a story told safely within the pages of a book.

What makes this book so lovely is the journey, as found in all good books. Nancy is trying to find her place in the world & when you are growing, confronting adversity for the things you enjoy, & worrying about a place all your own; the uphill climb can feel very steep. As we move through this story we come to find the gentle presence of librarians who notice Nancy & help cultivate her adoration of books as well as strengthen her self-esteem.

Deep in my heart, I send out gratitude for the adults in my life who encouraged me to read; who saw me develop critical thinking, logistically rooted perspectives & the desire to relinquish all my inhibitions while meandering a plot. Reading is a very special activity & one I feel thankful to be able to participate in. Should it be due to financial instability, geographic scarcity or physical setbacks, many children are unable to access the innumerable stories that line the shelves of human history.

It is important, valuable & wonderful when we meet someone along the way who can cushion us from the harsh realities of the world, even if only for an instant. Within books we might find ourselves or our friends, sometimes we learn a bit about the people we don’t understand too. Ultimately, stories enhance the human experience.

The illustrations in this book bring me a feeling of quaint nostalgia for those children’s books I read as a kid. Gifting young readers stories wherein they can see parts of themselves is a precious act they won’t soon forget & I am touched to know that the real-life Nancy forged a path for other young readers who might have lost their way in the great wide world.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sasquatch Books, Little Bigfoot & Karen Henry Clark for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This is a cute picture book telling the story of a woman who grew up to not only be a famous librarian, but an action figure as well.

It is a very encouraging tale of a child who is shy, and dreams about horses, and loves to read, but doesn't know how to socialize. The librarians at the local library recognize what she could be, and help her get a chance to shine by talking about her favorite subject, horses.

Librarians really are superstars.

<em>Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.</em>

Great story about finding yourself at the library. Everyone needs a librarian in their lives to support and encourage them. Books help us travel to other places and dream of other worlds. Books expand our views and encourage us to try new things.