Library as Sanctuary

  • Because of Winn-Dixie" by Kate DiCamillo.
  • Blind Sighted by Peter Moore. The main character is an avid reader who works in the library after school.
  • Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis has our young hero in a library in chapter 7, seeking help from a librarian he remembered.
  • Goin' Someplace Special by Patricia McKissack is about a young girl in the segregated south in the 1950's who finds her special place at the library.
  • Lirael, in Lirael, Daughter of the Clayr by Garth Nix, uses the library as a sanctuary.  While she is not physically ill, before she starts working in the library, she seriously considers killing herself.
  • Love to Langston by Tony Medina is a poetry tribute to Langston Hughes that has a poem called "Libraries."
  • Molly Moon’s Incredible Book of Hypnotism by George Byng.
  • So You Want To Be a Wizard_ by Diane Duane, the main character hides in the library while being chased by bullies (and the nice librarian agrees to get rid of the bullies if they come in.)  That's how she comes across the book called _So you want to be a Wizard_ which sends her off on many adventures and which continue through many volumes....
  • The Library Card by Jerry Spinelli has at least one story that might work, depending on how young the kiddies are.  These stories are kind of grim.
  • The Pagemaster by David Kirschner is about a boy who is afraid of just about everything.  He comes into the library to get out of a storm and discovers fantasy, horror and adventure--and himself, with his library card.
  • The Same Stuff as Stars" by Katherine Paterson,
  • Tomas and the Library Lady is that kind of story.
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