Never Give a Baby a Library Card
A Picture Book
Published on 8. January 2026
Book
Hardback
40 pages
978-1-4197-7471-3 (ISBN)
Description
From creative team Erin Sandberg and Tom Booth comes Never Give a Baby a Library Card, a rhyming, rollicking picture book read-aloud about the power of books and the perfect introduction to the library for little readers-for fans of If You Ever Want to Bring an Alligator to School, Don't!
"Never give a baby a library card.
They could learn to do anything! Just think, and think hard!
Ideas come from books, and too many of those
can lead to big problems, as everyone knows!"
Babies could learn how to cook; they could learn how to sew; they could learn to drive baby cars to and fro! From running barber shops to styling everyone in the latest diaper fashion, just think of all the chaos babies could cause if we let them loose in the library! Books can teach us anything we want to know. Can we really trust babies with that power?
From wife-and-husband team Erin Sandberg and Tom Booth comes a laugh-out-loud love letter to libraries and a celebration of the joy of reading that will have you rushing to get a library card of your very own.
"Never give a baby a library card.
They could learn to do anything! Just think, and think hard!
Ideas come from books, and too many of those
can lead to big problems, as everyone knows!"
Babies could learn how to cook; they could learn how to sew; they could learn to drive baby cars to and fro! From running barber shops to styling everyone in the latest diaper fashion, just think of all the chaos babies could cause if we let them loose in the library! Books can teach us anything we want to know. Can we really trust babies with that power?
From wife-and-husband team Erin Sandberg and Tom Booth comes a laugh-out-loud love letter to libraries and a celebration of the joy of reading that will have you rushing to get a library card of your very own.
Reviews / Votes
"Married duo Sandberg and Booth strike a humorous tone as they convey a serious takeaway-no one should limit access to knowledge...A rousing message to embolden library users everywhere." * Kirkus Reviews * "An empowering appreciation of reading..." * Publishers Weekly * ***STARRED REVIEW***"Sandberg's rhythmic, rhyming narrative rolls along well, gathering momentum and ending with a celebration-a spontaneous, joyous event captured ably by Booth's artwork. With an enticing title, an amusing text, and rollicking pictures of babies and their elders using the library, this engaging book won't be sitting on the shelf for long." * Booklist *
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
Abrams
Target group
Children/juvenile
US School Grade: From Preschool to Third Grade, Interest Age: From 4 to 8 years
Illustrations
Full-color illustrations throughout
Dimensions
Height: 237 mm
Width: 230 mm
Thickness: 12 mm
Weight
401 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4197-7471-3 (9781419774713)
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
E-Book
10/2025
Abrams Books for Young Readers
€16.49
Available for download
Persons
Erin Sandberg is a writer, reader, and avid library-goer. Fun fact: Whenever she moves to a new city, one of the first things she does is get a library card! When she's not drafting essays, short fiction, and children's stories, Erin is probably taking a very long walk or cooking up something tasty in the kitchen. She lives in Portland, Maine, with her husband, Tom Booth, and their son. Tom Booth is a children's book author and illustrator. He loves making books and designing characters for games and movies. He's been drawing and visiting the library since he was little, and now lives in Portland, Maine, with his wife, Erin Booth, and their son. Fun fact: His middle name rhymes with broccoli.