Roar for Reading

PreS-Gr 2–Why are there lions in libraries? According to this charming book, they are there as protectors. Over the years, lions found they didn’t need to roar as much, and libraries became quiet and peaceful, but when the librarian, Ms. Millicent, receives a letter telling her she needs to remove books from the place because they have dangerous ideas, she and her young son Julius find their roars. The utterly charming artwork shows the range and depth of emotions that the lions feel about having books removed from their library: sadness, anger, fear, and how roaring helps to solve this problem. With so many libraries and librarians under attack, this is a wonderful story to help young readers understand why libraries exist and why there should be different kinds of books on the shelves, even when the stories can be uncomfortable.