Another beautiful book by Sarah Stewart and David Small! While The Gardener will always be my favorite of their books, The Library is a fantastic read. Though anachronistic, I greatly enjoyed that Elizabeth Brown kept the same three cats her entire life (They could be look alikes, but I'm choosing to believe!). The teddy bear mirroring her throughout her life was also a sweet touch. There's a lot of richness in the main illustrations and in the border and marginal doodles. I also really appreciated that Elizabeth's happy ending isn't forsaking books for love, as could have been implied when she's noted not to be interested in partying when her friends are, but is instead donating her books to be shared by her whole community, and living out her life with her equally bookish friend.