If you missed Season 3, Episode 7 of Abbott Elementary, watch it right now and come back. Abbott has a school librarian. Let’s stop and dance right here!

What a heartwarming story. Second-grade teacher Janine Teagues (Quinta Brunson) pilots a program to bring in a school librarian, Rosalyn Inez (Cree Summer). She’s wildly popular with kids, and the program is succeeding. But formidable kindergarten teacher Barbara Howard (Sheryl Lee Ralph) doesn’t want to play by the new librarian’s rules and insists the pilot is a fail. Janine finds the courage to stand up to Barbara and defend the program.

We all know a Barbara in our school—someone whom everyone respects and listens to. One word from them can make or break a program. Like Janine, we must stand strong and defend libraries. Thanks to the Abbott Elementary creators for getting it right! Now, inspire students with these books about libraries.

A Library by Nikki Giovanni. illus. by Erin K. Robinson. HarperCollins/Clarion/Versify. 2022.
PreS-Gr 2–A small Black girl helps her grandmother with household chores before running off to the library to read, dream, and be herself. A joyful story of how reading and libraries feed the imagination.

Go Forth and Tell: The Life of Augusta Baker, Librarian and Master Storyteller by Breanna J. McDaniel. illus. by April Harrison. Dial. Mar. 2024.
K-Gr 4–As a young librarian in Harlem, NY, Augusta Baker saw that authentic Black representation was missing from the collection. She brought in books in which Harlem’s kids could imagine themselves conquering the world.

[Also read: "A Librarian in the Library Is Good: John Oliver, ‘Abbott Elementary’ on an institution worth fighting for" | From the Editor]

Richard Wright and the Library Card by William Miller.illus. by Gregory Christie. Lee & Low. 1997.
Gr 1 Up–As a young man, Richard Wright was determined to borrow books from the whites-only public library but was refused. In this fictionalized account of an incident from his autobiography, Black Boy, his passion for books, his perseverance, and aid from others help him prevail.

She Persisted: Pura Belpré by Meg Medina & Marilisa Jiménez García. illus. by Gillian Flint. Philomel. 2023.
Gr 1-4–When Pura Belpré moved from Puerto Rico to New York City and became a librarian, she brought in bilingual titles and programming to give to Spanish speakers, including children’s stories.

Ban This Book by Alan Gratz. Tor/Starscape. 2017.
Gr 4-6–When Amy Anne finds out her favorite book has been banned from the school library by the PTA president, she decides to read all the banned books. Then she and her friends start the Banned Books Locker Library.

Blue Stars: Mission One: The Vice Principal Problem by Kekla Magoon & Cynthia Leitich Smith. illus. by Molly Murakami. Candlewick. Mar. 2024.
Gr 4 Up–Cousins Riley and Maya dislike Vice Principal Balderdash, who wants to cut the school library from the budget. This graphic novel follows the girls as they scheme to stop him.

Property of the Rebel Librarian by Allison Varnes. Random. 2018.
Gr 4-7–When June’s parents decide her school library checkout is inappropriate, they campaign against the freedom to read. The school librarian is suspended, books are removed from the library, and students may only read approved titles. June, an activist in training, takes action.

The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe. tr. from Spanish by Lilit Thwaites. Holt. 2017.
Gr 8 Up–Fourteen-year-old Dita Kraus is imprisoned at Auschwitz in the “family camp,” Block 31, which secretly harbors eight books smuggled in by Jewish prisoners. Dita has been charged with their care, making her “the Librarian of Auschwitz.”