The Keeper of Stories
Published on 4. February 2025
Book
Hardback
40 pages
978-1-6659-1497-0 (ISBN)
Description
A Sydney Taylor Book Award Picture Book Honor
Three starred reviews!
In this "poignant" (Booklist, starred review) and uplifting true story of community, a neighborhood comes together in the wake of a library fire to save the stories within, offering a timely reminder of the essential role libraries and books play in our communities.
A library is a keeper of stories. A keeper of memories. A keeper of hope. But what happens when that keeper is threatened?
When a fire broke out at New York's Jewish Theological Seminary library in 1966, firefighters raced to the rescue. But by the end of the day, thousands of books had been turned to ashes and the ones that remained were on the brink of ruin. The community was devastated. Would the priceless stories in those waterlogged pages be lost forever? Or could helping hands from every background and corner of the neighborhood come together to become keepers of stories, too?
This powerfully told and lushly illustrated true story is a welcome example of how we all can come together to keep libraries and the books within safe for generations to come.
Three starred reviews!
In this "poignant" (Booklist, starred review) and uplifting true story of community, a neighborhood comes together in the wake of a library fire to save the stories within, offering a timely reminder of the essential role libraries and books play in our communities.
A library is a keeper of stories. A keeper of memories. A keeper of hope. But what happens when that keeper is threatened?
When a fire broke out at New York's Jewish Theological Seminary library in 1966, firefighters raced to the rescue. But by the end of the day, thousands of books had been turned to ashes and the ones that remained were on the brink of ruin. The community was devastated. Would the priceless stories in those waterlogged pages be lost forever? Or could helping hands from every background and corner of the neighborhood come together to become keepers of stories, too?
This powerfully told and lushly illustrated true story is a welcome example of how we all can come together to keep libraries and the books within safe for generations to come.
Reviews / Votes
* "This poignant story introduces young readers to the real-life fire that engulfed New York City's Jewish Theological Seminary Library in 1966...celebrating the community effort and the importance of books...capturing the destructive power of the fire and, more importantly, the diverse community efforts to preserve the library's stories." -- <I>Booklist</I>, starred review "A warm celebration of community spirit....An inspirational instance of people spontaneously coming together to help out in the wake of a natural urban disaster." -- School Library Journal * 2/1/25 * * "Pritchard's forceful writing is marked by inspired turns of phrase....The marvelous illustrations, created with acrylic paints, colored pencil, and collage, are abuzz with spirited, robust movement...A stirring testament to the power of books to unite us all for good."-- <I>Kirkus Reviews</I>, starred review * January 2025 * * "Readers are pulled into the desperate fight to save irreplaceable treasures throughout a work that emphasizes the keeping done not only by libraries but by communities and people, too-guardians of memory and meaning, preserving the past for future generations." -- Publishers Weekly, *STARRED REVIEW* * 11/24/2024 *
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Simon & Schuster
Target group
Children/juvenile
US School Grade: From Preschool to Third Grade, Interest Age: From 4 to 8 years
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
f-c reflective (jkt spfx: spot gloss UV, emboss)
Dimensions
Height: 321 mm
Width: 238 mm
Thickness: 13 mm
Weight
532 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-6659-1497-0 (9781665914970)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Caroline Kusin Pritchard
The Keeper of Stories
E-Book
02/2025
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
€10.87
Available for download
Persons
Caroline Kusin Pritchard grew up as the youngest of four children in Dallas, Texas, where she spent her childhood writing poems and reciting them to her loyal fanbase of stuffed animals. She is the author of many children's books, including Gitty and Kvetch, The Day the Books Disappeared, and The Keeper of Stories, which is a Sydney Taylor Book Award Picture Book Honor, a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, and received three starred reviews. She has an MFA in writing for children and young adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts and lives in Northern Virginia with her husband and their four kiddos. Visit CarolineKusinPritchard.com to learn more.
Selina Alko grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia, surrounded by the melody of words and stories from different places. Selina's books include The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage, Daddy Christmas and Hanukkah Mama, Stars of the Night: The Courageous Children of the Czech Kindertransport, and I Is for Immigrants, which garnered a silver medal from the Society of Illustrators. She also illustrated The Keeper of Stories, a Sydney Taylor Book Award Picture Book Honor. Selina lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her children and her cat Czen. Visit her work at SelinaAlko.com.
Selina Alko grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia, surrounded by the melody of words and stories from different places. Selina's books include The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage, Daddy Christmas and Hanukkah Mama, Stars of the Night: The Courageous Children of the Czech Kindertransport, and I Is for Immigrants, which garnered a silver medal from the Society of Illustrators. She also illustrated The Keeper of Stories, a Sydney Taylor Book Award Picture Book Honor. Selina lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her children and her cat Czen. Visit her work at SelinaAlko.com.