Jan Pinborough

When most people thought girls should stay inside and do quiet activities, Annie Carroll Moore thought otherwise. She liked to play outside and read stories. Children weren’t allowed in libraries, and most people thought reading wasn’t important for girls. When she was older and both her parents died from the flu, she moved to Brooklyn, New York, when she found out that libraries were starting to hire female librarians. As a librarian, she encouraged children to check out books and encouraged other librarians to let children read the books. She wrote book reviews and helped people find good books for children to read. She brought in entertainers for the children and helped teach children who were learning English to read. Her whole life, Miss Moore did things people didn’t think she should do and helped change reading in America and around the world.

This interesting book shows some of the history of how children’s books became a part of libraries. A note at the back talks about other women librarians who helped allow children into libraries and more about how Anne Carroll Moore decided to change the world of libraries and books for children. It doesn’t talk about how Moore sometimes discouraged some people from reading books like Stuart Little and the Oz books, but instead it focuses on the contributions she made and how she was willing to do things that were discouraged. The illustrations are playful and fun enough to fit into the subject of creating acceptance for children’s areas in libraries. Readers who love libraries or reading about influential women in history will enjoy this fun book and learning some things about how libraries came to be the way they are today.… (més)