Age: Kindergarten-2nd grade

I wanted to love this book because, hey, Toni Morrison, but there are some...complications. The beginning of the book depicts Louise, a girl dressed in a rain coat heading to an undisclosed location. We are told that she is "sometimes lonely or sometimes sad" but the narrator offers uplifting (but not poetically pleasing) reassurances to her uncertainties with the world. The artwork is dark and oftentimes scary, perhaps allowing the listener to see what Louise sees. However, I think the scary situations layer themselves and might evoke too much fear in the listener, especially with this line, "Is that a bird of prey from which you'd better run?"

Louise finally reaches her destination: a library! The illustrations brighten and we finally see a relaxed smile on Louise. This next observation is truly picky, but I was a little confused to see Louise first looking at the older kids section, but then we see her lying on the ground with picture books. How old is she? That being said, the perspective audience of this book is a little hard to pin down. The repetition in the beginning is lovely, but better suited for a younger audience. But the scary scenes are best suited to an older audience.

The book has a sweet ending with horribly executed writing, leaving you with an unpleasant taste in your mouth. Oh, Toni, I know this was dedicated to librarians and I wish there weren't these shortcomings! But, alas.

One final note: she does not receive a new library card, as the description says. Perhaps there was a lot of (unfortunate) editing with this picture book...