The Library in the Woods just arrived in the our library yesterday, and the cover artwork was so wonderful I had to sit and read it right away! This picture book tells the story of a library built for Blacks in Roxboro, North Carolina in 1933, and frequented by the author, Ramsey, when he was a boy in 1959. Although the overall story is fictional, it is based on Ramsey's young life when his family moved from Maryland to North Carolina. At that time Blacks were not allowed to do many things that Whites could, and using a library was one of those many things. So Black libraries were built in various places around the South, and when young Ramsey discovered this one for the first time, it changed his life.
That said, Christie's artwork in The Library in the Woods is so wonderful! He uses acrylic paint on illustration board, and the effect is realistic and yet a little abstract at the same time, giving his images a feeling like you are right there where the story is taking place. The basic idea of the story, that such a wonderful place as a library, was not (and is not) available to everyone and anyone across the world, but especially in this country, makes me pause (not paws), and be a little sad. I'm glad there were (and are) people who help to fix these problems...maybe you are one of those pups? Or will be someday...everyone should have access to books! 5 paws!
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