Review by Booklist Review
As a youngster, Dorothy Thomas knew she would become a librarian and planned to be in charge of a fine brick library like the one in her small Massachusetts town. However, after getting her library degree, she married and moved to rural North Carolina, where she operated a bookmobile for many years, until a library was established. As the years passed, her library-on-wheels blossomed, and Dorothy profoundly affected many lives through her love of books. Finely drawn, colorful illustrations feature a good number of landscapes, giving a strong sense of the Blue Ridge mountain setting while closely matching the story line of the brief text as Dorothy and her green van visit patrons in small towns, farms, schools, and even snowbound homes. The final page features an author's note that establishes that Dorothy Thomas was a real person and reaffirms her influence in her rural community. The Library, by Sarah Stewart (1995), and Heather Henson's That Book Woman (2008) are good read-alikes.--Enos, Randall Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-Based on the librarian from the author's childhood, the story follows one woman's dedication to bringing reading material to people in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Starting with hauling books up from her basement to later driving around in the town's green bookmobile, Miss Dorothy eventually inspires the town to purchase a building for a library of their very own. Beautiful, soft landscapes of the rugged terrain throughout the seasons serve as a backdrop for this charming story of a librarian on the go. While Miss Dorothy's dreams of a stately brick building as a true library seems to undermine the worth of the bookmobile a bit, the overall effect is that of nostalgia and a sweet homage to a special woman. Most adult readers have a memory of a Miss Dorothy in their lives, be it a teacher, neighbor, or librarian, and most children will enjoy this look back in time. A lovely addition to any collection.-Sarah Townsend, Norfolk Public Library, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
As a girl, Dorothy Thomas wanted to be "in charge of a fine brick building just like the one where she checked out books" in her Massachusetts hometown. Thomas instead finds her calling in North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains, driving a bookmobile and eventually overseeing a small-town library. Eye-pleasing pastel-hued illustrations picture the resourceful early-twentieth-century redhead toting books to her various patrons. (c) Copyright 2011. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
