Title: So You Want To Build a Library?
Author: Lindsay Leslie
Illustrator: Aviel Basil
Age: 4-7
I’ve just discovered this gem of a book and am having trouble shaking the feeling that it was written especially for child-bookworm me. If only I could send a copy back 30 years through a time warp and give a much younger version of myself the delight of reading it!
So You Want To Build a Library?, by Lindsay Leslie (whose beautiful picture book Dusk Explorers I reviewed back in 2020) is for those kids who live, breathe and dream books, and whose idea of a perfect afternoon is to be curled up in a chair in a library. The first page says it all:
“You love books.
You love the worlds in books.
You love the characters who live in the worlds in books.”
The story’s about a young girl (I can’t help but notice that she even looks just like me as a child 😂) who uses her fantastic imagination to design and build her very own library. But it’s not just any library. Oh no, it also has a slide, a water chute, a conveyor belt and its own resident giant (who also comes in very handy during the building work!). In short, it’s a place of dreams for any child, and not just bookworms – although I’d like to think that anyone could become a bookworm in such exciting surroundings!
Illustrator Aviel Basil brings the story to life, capturing with bright colours and gorgeous facial expressions the excitement of the girl and her fairy tale friends.
So You Want To Build a Library? was released on 15th August 2021. You can get hold of a copy by clicking one of the links below:
Helen Ishmurzin 
The library where I work is just embarking on a capital campaign so we can build our own new library. We’re still considering layout, so it’s not too late to recommend a water chute–although I suspect our library director will make some excuse saying that books and water-rides don’t mix very well.
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Haha unfortunately he may be right. Looks like it’ll have to be a regular chute then :-D.
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