As a children's librarian, it should come as no surprise that I love picture books. Since I was young, I've been captivated by both the stories and illustrations - which is not unusual for a kid, of course. But by the time I was ten I'd begun to worry about what my peers would think. Would they think of me as childish for continuing to enjoy a genre written for kids who hadn't yet attained the stoic maturity of tweenhood? When I expressed my concern to Mrs. ArchuIeta, the school librarian, she reassured me that, “A good book is a good book. If somebody thinks you’re a baby for reading it, they’re the real baby because they don’t understand it’s a good book.” With that, Mrs. Archuleta became my hero. And I took her message to heart, eventually becoming a librarian myself and more or less devoting my professional life to picture books.
Now, as an adult, what sustains my interest in picture books is that they cover a huge range of topics. There's always something new arriving at the library to excite young readers and their grownups, from everyday life to social and emotional development, nature, science, family, and - a personal favorite - history. Of course, as a librarian, it's especially fun to see picture books that explore the unique history of the profession. Recently, I came across Hope Rode: The Promise of the Pack Horse Librarians, a picture book which tells the story of the pack horse librarians of the 1930s. If you’re not familiar with this bit of history, one of the many Works Progress Administration (WPA) programs (1935) was to take library materials into the rugged hills of Kentucky. Its mission was two-fold: to increase literacy for an underserved population and provide work for librarians during the Great Depression. The librarians got around the hill country by horse or mule with saddlebags of books - thus the Pack Horse librarian name (PBS has produced a short documentary that you can watch online about them).
The pack horse librarians may be the most well-known example, but librarians and their animal friends around the world have been celebrated in picture books - from the biblioburro in rural Colombia to the true story of a library on camel-back in Pakistan. You don't have to look very far to find stories of librarians working hard to bring the love of reading to hard-to-reach places. Even bookmobiles, on four wheels instead of four legs, have been a topic of picture books.
A few more of my favorite picks can be found below, and I included a couple for the grown-ups (not that you won't enjoy the picture books too!). As always, if you'd like additional recommendations for picture books, or any books, chat with your local librarian or use our personalized picks form.
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek
