The Lady with the Books

October 2, 2020

Gr 2-4-Anneliese and her little brother Peter are hungry the day they wander a war-torn city and happen upon a hall filled with children's books. The books are in many different languages and can't be borrowed, but the siblings are eager to return the next day. The lady in charge shares The Story of Ferdinand and recommends Pippi Longstocking, stories that charm both children. That night Anneliese resolves to work to bring the city's damaged library back to life. The reader is dropped right into the aftermath of war with its destruction and scarcity of food, and learns in passing that the children's father was shot for "standing up to men whose orders he didn't want to follow." The power of children's books to lift spirits is conveyed, but it isn't explained until the back matter that the children have visited an exhibition. There one also learns of the real life Jella Lepman, who conceived of the exhibition to help children feel connected to others around the world and to give them a sense of hope. Lepman's work led to the founding of the International Youth Library and the International Board on Books for Young People. Lafrance's enchanting artwork, created with graphite pencil and colored digitally, falls somewhere between that of Lois Lenski and Alison Jay. Her figures are daintily doll-like, and she uses a second, finely detailed, diaphanous style to evoke the fantasy worlds that flow out of books. VERDICT Most young readers will need the help of an adult and the back matter to appreciate the significance of Jella Lepman's exhibition, which may resonate most with adults.-Jan Aldrich Solow, formerly Fairfax County Public Sch., VA

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 15, 2020
In 1945 Germany, when children were going hungry, Jella Lepman, a Jewish woman, returned to her country and created a traveling exhibit of international children's books. From that work emerged both the International Youth Library and the International Board on Books for Young People. This fictional story provides an accessible introduction to a person devoted to children's intellectual and emotional development. As Anneliese notices women working to clear Munich's bombed-out streets, her little brother Peter picks flowers growing out of the concrete, a gesture echoed in other spreads when symbolic red flowers appear floating out of books that the children will soon view. Although food is always on their minds, they enter a big building and find an exhibit of international children's books. Anneliese remembers her papa reading Pu de B�r (Winnie-the-Pooh) to her, and Peter is excited to find a book about an elephant in a suit. On another visit they listen to "the lady with the books" translate The Story of Ferdinand into German; the anti-war theme resonates with Anneliese. The soft-edged illustrations are quite lovely, perhaps downplaying postwar-period hardships but also displaying Lepman's optimism. Principal and most secondary characters are White; two children of color are also seen visiting the exhibit. Lepman's work and legacy are explored in four pages of backmatter. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10.4-by-18.8-inch double-page spreads viewed at 73.6% of actual size.) A story for book-loving children and adults who believe in the power of literature. (Picture book. 6-9)

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