The Lost Library (Hardcover)
September/October 2023 Kids Indie Next List
“I loved the mystery of the Lost Library. This was a good ghost story with polite ghosts, a mouse-sympathizing cat, and some adventure-seeking fifth graders. A great story for kids to read by themselves or out loud — I can’t wait to share it!”
— Angela Burns, Little Bean Books, Antioch, IL
Description
The New York Times bestselling authors of Bob, Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass, introduce readers to a little free library guarded by a cat and a boy who takes on the mystery it keeps. A #1 Indie Bestseller!
When a mysterious little free library (guarded by a large orange cat) appears overnight in the small town of Martinville, eleven-year-old Evan plucks two weathered books from its shelves, never suspecting that his life is about to change.
Evan and his best friend Rafe quickly discover a link between one of the old books and a long-ago event that none of the grown-ups want to talk about. The two boys start asking questions whose answers will transform not only their own futures, but the town itself.
Told in turn by a ghost librarian named Al, an aging (but beautiful) cat named Mortimer, and Evan himself, The Lost Library is a timeless story from award-winning authors Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass. It’s about owning your truth, choosing the life you want, and the power of a good book (and, of course, the librarian who gave it to you).
About the Author
Rebecca Stead is the New York Times bestselling author of When You Reach Me, Liar & Spy, First Light, Goodbye Stranger, Bob, and, most recently, The List of Things That Will Not Change. Her books have been awarded the Newbery Medal, the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award for Fiction and the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize. Rebecca lives in New York City, where she is always on the lookout for her next story idea.
Wendy Mass is the New York Times bestselling author of The Candymakers series, Bob, and many other novels for young readers, including the Schneider Family Book Award-winner A Mango-Shaped Space, Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life (which was made into a feature film), Every Soul a Star, Pi in the Sky, the Twice Upon a Time series, and the Willow Falls series that began with 11 Birthdays. She and her family live in New Jersey.
Praise For…
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!
#1 INDIE BESTSELLER!
An Amazon Best Book of the Month, September 2023
#1 Bestseller, New England and Southern Independent Booksellers Associations (NEBA & SIBA)
"When a makeshift Little Free Library appears on the town green, almost 20 years after the mysterious fire that burned down the town library, the people of Martinville are drawn together once more to not just solve the mystery of the fire but also to decide what it means for their own fates. Mass and Stead employ a rich cast of characters—including ghost librarians, graduating fifth-graders, mice, and a cat—to dive into the heart of Martinville. ... Full of heart, sly narration, and Stead’s expected air of mystery, this is well suited for lovers of books and libraries and novels featuring ensemble casts." —Booklist
"An entertaining, lightly fantastical and supernatural love letter to books, librarians, and Little Free Libraries.... Readers will come away feeling inspired."--The Horn Book Magazine
"A boy who visits a little free library gets more than he bargained for when he becomes a sleuth caught up in the middle of his town’s most enduring mystery.... A page-turner with striking characters and a satisfying puzzle at its heart." —Kirkus Reviews
"Written by two powerhouses of children’s literature, Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass ... Stead and Mass provide all the tools required to solve the book’s multilayered mysteries—but rather than make the reveals too obvious, they create an alluring trail of breadcrumbs, inviting readers to leap to each discovery by themselves.... The Lost Library’s whimsical simplicity is a delight. It is subtly magical, sweetly optimistic and above all, kind. The Lost Library reminds us that each book contains an entire universe, and the next one you step inside of could be the one that changes everything. The next time one of its readers walks past a little free library, they might just stop to look inside." --BookPage