Library Mouse: A Friend’s Tale
| by Daniel Kirk Abrams, 2009  |
 |
 |
Book Description
Sam is a library mouse. He lives in a little hole in the wall behind the children’s reference books. Sam loves to write and draw, and everyone loves the little books he leaves on the shelves of the library for them to find. But Sam is also very shy around people, and no one at the library has ever met him—until Tom.
When the library’s Writers and Illustrators Club is given an assignment to work with partners, Tom finds he is the odd kid out. Then he discovers Sam’s identity and hopes they can work together on a project. But what will happen if everyone discovers Sam is a mouse? Can Tom keep the secret?
In this sequel to Library Mouse, Daniel Kirk brings to life the joys of writing, friendship, and collaboration.
Reviews of A Friend’s Tale
Still to come
Daniel Kirk speaks about Library Mouse: A Friend’s Tale
As I’ve shared my book Library Mouse with groups of children over the last year, I’ve discovered that kids love to pour over the illustrations, looking for Sam amid the books on the shelves.
Read More
Good picture books often offer riches beyond the story. I want there to be other things in my books, besides the plot, for kids to find. I want them to pay attention; for many times, there’s treasure hiding in the details.
For this book, A Friend’s Tale, I asked some of my favorite librarians for their input on the best books made by author/illustrator teams, who have done some of their most memorable work together. I decided to place many of the wonderful books the librarians suggested in the backgrounds of my pictures, since the theme of A Friend’s Tale is teamwork.
You’ll be richly rewarded if you search for these books on the shelves of your own town or school library. You’ll find, like Mrs. Forrester in A Friend’s Tale says, “how teamwork can make a great book!”
I wish to thank the following librarians for their suggestions: Heidi Cadmus, Lauralee Foerster, Judith Gantly, Miriam Ghabour, Susan Koenig, Starr Latronica, and Linda Simpfendorfer.
These are just a few of the great author/illustrator teams whom the librarians recommended: Allard/Marshall, Brown/Hurd, Clements/Selznick, Cronin/Bliss, Cronin/Lewin, Dahl/Blake, Estes/Slobodkin, Hest/Barton, Lester/Munsinger, Lewis/Kirk, London/Remkiewicz, Minarik/Sendak, Numeroff/Bond, O’Conner/Glasser, Palatini/Cole, Palatini/Egierlski, Palatine/Fine, Rylant/Stevenson, Scieszka/Smith, Slate/Wolff, Stewart/Small, Wick/Marzallo, Wilson/Chapman, Yolen/Teague, and Yorinks/Egielski. You’ll find these and many more at your library!
Things to think about and do after reading Library Mouse: A Friend’s Tale
Read More
- Do you think it’s possible for a person and an animal to really be friends? How do we communicate with our animal pals and pets? How do we express our thoughts and emotions in ways that animals cannot? How do they communicate in ways that we cannot?
- Do you think two people can be friends, when they’ve never even met? Have you ever had a pen pal, or someone you talked to with letters or email? Are there ways in which communicating by letter may be better than talking face to face? How are these two kinds of friendships different?
- Library Mouse, A Friend’s Tale is the first book I’ve ever written a sequel for. I’ve now written many Library Mouse stories, trying to find new ideas that my editors will like and want to publish. The stories have all kinds of plots and adventures, and some of them are good, and some of them are not so good! That’s what happens when you’re a writer. Try writing your own sequel to Library Mouse, choosing characters and adventures for Sam. Anything can happen when you sit down to write!
- If you’ve ever written a story of your own, you know how hard it can be to draw illustrations for it. Similarly, if you’re good at drawing, sometimes you may find that you don’t have any ideas for stories, or think you don’t know how to write. That’s what teamwork is for. Work with a friend or partner to see if you can come up with stories that the two of you create. That’s how most movies and TV shows are written—teamwork! Books can be done the same way.