Monday, October 23, 2017

Books! Books! Books!: Explore the Amazing Collection of the British Library by Mick Manning & Brita Granstrom - ADVISABLE


Manning, Mick & Brita Granstrom.  Books! Books! Books!: Explore the Amazing Collection of the British Library.  42 Pages.  Candlewick Press, 2017.  $17.99.  Content: G.  NON-FICTION.  PICTURE BOOK.
A book about one of the greatest libraries in the world—The British Library.  Built with 180,000 tons of concrete.  It has 400 miles of shelves.  But the most important things are inside the library.  This book highlights some of the British Library’s greatest treasures.  Handmade books like St. Cuthbert’s Gospel made in 687 CE.  Old documents like: Beowulf, Lindisfarne Gospels, and the Magna Carta.  It also has big maps, like the Klencke Atlas that is so heavy, six people have to carry it.  The works of great British authors like: Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Bronte Sisters, Charles Dickens, Sir Author Conan Doyle, and Lewis Carroll.  The library also holds: cookbooks, newspapers, medical encyclopedias, and sheet music. 

Authors Mick Manning and Brita Granstrom do a fantastic job of highlighting a few fascinating items from an enormous collection.  They used mixed media illustrations with cartoons, pictures of actual books and documents, and short storyboards to explain the stories like Pride and Prejudice.  Each page is eye-catching and draws the reader into each story.  The authors explain who the people were who created the items, what they did, and why they were important.  A unique overview of history that will appeal to bibliophiles, librarians, and book-loving kids. 
EL-ADVISABLE.  Samantha Hastings, MA, MLS. 

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