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From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)

Not just camels, but elephants, buses, bikes, boats, and wheelbarrows are also among the unique way reading materials are delivered to children around the world through library and literacy initiatives in their countries. Margriet Ruur’s fascinating photodocumentary looks at programs in thirteen different countries, including books delivered by wheelbarrow on a beach in Australia, by mail to an Inuit village in Canada, by camels in Kenya, and by elephants in Thailand. There are floating libraries in Finland and Indonesia, a donkey-drawn cart in Zimbabwe, and a truck in Azerbaijan. Each two-page spread features a different country and includes a narrative about the program, photographs, and a fact box about the nation. (Ages 5–9)

CCBC Choices 2006 © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2006. Used with permission.

From Horn Book

January 1, 2006
Two-page entries describe rural library services to children in thirteen countries from Australia to Zimbabwe. A few paragraphs of accessible text describe the library operation, which is shown in several small photos. The intriguing view of libraries and children around the world will appeal to many readers.

(Copyright 2006 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

From Horn Book

September 1, 2005
Camels, donkeys, and elephants -- along with boats, bicycles, and wheelbarrows -- are among the means of transporting books to remote communities featured in this engaging album. Two-page entries describe rural library services to children in thirteen countries from Australia and Azerbaijan to Thailand and Zimbabwe. A few paragraphs of accessible text describe the library operation, which is shown in several small color photographs. An inset block frames a sketchy map (an introductory world map is more useful), the national flag, and a few quick facts about the country. Some of the colorful vehicles are not so different from American bookmobiles, carrying computers as well as books. In other places, the book trek is more laborious: in Papua, New Guinea, for example, volunteers shoulder large boxes of books to walk across log bridges and through dense jungle to reach distant villages. The intriguing view of libraries and children around the world will appeal to many readers, and this will also pair nicely with many picture books about libraries and books. The final page names individuals who served as sources and identifies a small set of print sources.

(Copyright 2005 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

From School Library Journal

August 1, 2005
Gr 3-5 -Ruurs visits 13 countries and explores the manner in which librarians provide services to patrons using everything from boats and wheelbarrows to elephants. Many of the full-color photographs were actually taken by the librarians themselves. A boxed section also provides a map and basic facts about the featured country. While this is an attractive browsing item, the amount of text on each page and the textbook style of writing may discourage students from reading it cover to cover. However, with little information available about libraries of the world, this title offers a glimpse into the world of books, which several countries consider as -important as air or water. - This might be an interesting revelation to many students who consider reading a laborious task and to those who take an abundance of books very much for granted." -Anne L. Tormohlen, Deerfield Elementary School, Lawrence, KS"

Copyright 2005 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

From Booklist

July 1, 2005
Gr. 3-5. Bookmobiles are only the beginning. For less-accessible locales think donkey cart, bicycle, camel back, elephant, even wheelbarrow. In a series of compelling case studies, Ruurs presents examples from 13 countries--Azerbaijan to Zimbabwe--of children and books being brought together thanks to dedication, hard work, and ingenuity. Specific details are sometimes scant, and readers eager to know more about or wanting to support these grassroots efforts will be disappointed by the incomplete contact information. Still, this inspirational survey, with lots of color photographs of children with books in their hands, adds a worldwide perspective to Kathi Appelt's " Down Cut Shin Creek: The Pack Horse Librarians of Kentucky " (2001). For readers a little hazy on the location of the 13 countries, a tiny map and a capsule description are included on each spread. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)