Part of the author and illustrator’s popular Mr. Tiffin’s Classroom series, this is the tale of a boy who “is a slow and careful reader” and a librarian (who happens to be nonbinary and use they/them pronouns) helping him find just the right book for his interests and the way he reads.
Most of the class is excited about visiting their school’s new library and meeting the new librarian—except for one boy named Jake. Jake sometimes “read the same page more than once so he could figure everything out.” On Library Day, he “felt left behind.”
The new librarian, Beck Goode, is “a friendly-looking person” who says, “Please call me Librarian Beck.” As the other children run off in search of books, Jake studies the bookcases and how they’re put together. Librarian Beck notices this and comes over with a big book called Woodworking for Young Hands. Jake can already identify many of the tools in it, but notes that it has a lot of pictures and therefore “doesn’t count as reading.”
“Says who?” Beck counters. Jake checks out the book.
Over the course of several days, Jake reads through some of the projects in it. When the book is due back, Librarian Beck sees the careful notes Jake took and encourages him to keep it longer. Librarian Beck later recommends some additional books on DIY projects.
At the end of the school year, however, all books are due back and the library will be closed all summer. Jake, however, has an idea. With the help of his grandfather and the woodworking book, they build something, which Jake reveals at the final Library Day of the year. It’s a “little library”—a small box shaped like a house, on a post like a mailbox, where people can take and return books for free. They place it outside the school, and Librarian Beck fills it with books.
We see children using the little library all summer. Jake hasn’t wanted to do so, however, telling Librarian Beck that he’ll wait for his favorite, Woodworking for Young Hands, in the fall. Yet one day in July, a package appears in the mail for Jake. It’s that book, along with a note from Beck, who tells Jake that because he’s “loved it more than anyone had in a long time,” Beck withdrew it from the library and gave it to him.
A final note “by Jake” informs readers that Little Free Libraries are a real thing, and more information can be found at littlefreelibrary.org. (It’s true!)
Both Jake and Beck are White, although the class as a whole is multiracial. Beck sports an asymmetrical haircut, a plain circular earring high on one ear, and a variety of colorful shirts. We’re never told that Beck is nonbinary; McNamara simply uses “they” pronouns for Beck without fanfare. It’s refreshing—and the main point of the story, that different children read differently and there’s no right or wrong way for a book to have an impact, is an important one.
