My Librarian is a Camel

Bibliography
Ruurs, Margriet. 2005. My Librarian is a Camel: How Books are Brought to Children Around the World. Pennsylvania: Boyd Mills Press. ISBN: 978159078930.

Plot Summary
The book is a photo essay of librarians and volunteers efforts to take books to children in remote areas of the world. Margaret Ruurs contacted librarians in 13 different countries and collected pictures and stories of how they deliver books to children that are enthusiastic to read. The book tells the story of these dedicated librarians who have become creative and have used camels, elephants, and boats to deliver books to needy children.

Critical Analysis
My Librarian is Camel by Margriet Ruurs is an inspiring book that shows the zeal of librarians to take books to the children that do not have easy access to books. In Australia books are delivered by solar-powered trucks. In Canada a Borrower-by-Mail program enables children in far north to receive books in mail. In Finland a book boat delivers books to children. In Kenya camels bring books to children in remote villages. The book is enriched with these and other amazing stories about mobile libraries around the world. The book also provides a small map and a little fact sheet about each country.

Children who take school and public library collections for granted will learn a lot about how books are made available to children in hard to reach places in the world. Students will appreciate the books they have and see how children in remote places eagerly wait to access these books.