Review: The Tiny Hero of Ferny Creek Library by Linda Bailey, art by Victoria Jamieson
Source: Hardcopy courtesy of Penguin Random House Canada/Tundra Books. Thank you!
Publication: June 19, 2018 by Tundra Books (paperback). First published 2017.
Book Description:

Eddie, a passionate reader and a shiny green bug, saves the school library in this funny, heartwarming tale that fans of Flora & Ulysses and Charlotte’s Web will love.

Eddie is a tiny green bug who loves to read and who lives behind the chalkboard in Mr. Wang’s fourth-grade classroom with his parents, his 53 brothers and sisters, and his Aunt Min. But when Aunt Min goes to the school library and never returns, Eddie leaves the comfort of his home for the first time and begins the dangerous trek through the elementary school. After dodging running sneakers, falling books, and terrifying spiders, Eddie reaches the library, where he finds Aunt Min stuck on a desk with two broken legs! To top it all off, there’s a substitute librarian who has terrible plans to close the library and turn it into a local testing center. No more books at all! Encouraged by the brave deeds done by small creatures like Stuart Little and Charlotte from Charlotte’s Web, Eddie comes up with a plan to save the library–a plan that requires all the courage one little bug can muster. Perfect for fans of Chris Grabenstein’s Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library and Lynne Rae Perkins’ Nuts to You. Featuring extensive black and white art from Newbery Honor Medalist and New York Times bestseller Victoria Jamieson as well as references to classic children’s literature sprinkled throughout.

Gazing into the room, he felt a jolt of recognition, even though he’d never been there before. Maybe it was the gentle hush of the air. Or the glorious, fusty smell of hundreds of books in one place. The paper. The ink. The stories. Oh, the stories! He stood there, breathing it in…

Award-winning Canadian author Linda Bailey (Stanley’s Little Sister, Carson Crosses Canada) and award-winning artist Victoria Jamieson (Roller Girl) come together to present the story of a determined, story-loving, bright green bug named Eddie in The Tiny Hero of Ferny Creek Library.

Eddie and his family live in a “crack behind a chalkboard” of Room 19 of Ferny Creek Elementary School; since the day his ancestors “had the bad luck to get scooped up one evening and dropped into a glass tank”, they have called Room 19 home. Eddie, however, unlike his many, many grub siblings and his Ma and Pa, has serious ambitions involving books and readings- ambitions inspired by his Aunt Min, a lover of storytelling, books, and the library. One day, Eddie overhears a conversation between his Ma and Pa regarding Aunt Min-who has gone missing somewhere in the school’s library. Eddie’s personal decision to take on the challenge of finding his aunt forever changes the course of his life, as well as the fate of Ferny Creek Library. Eddie faces a number of tremendous challenges (and adversaries) throughout his odyssey, including numerous Squishers, a spider, and a deadly mop and bucket belonging to the school cleaner. But the biggest threat to Eddie, Aunt Min, and their beloved library turns out to be a woman named Estelle Grisch, sister of the new school superintendent, and serious enemy to all things bookish and wonderful. As Eddie contemplates this new, seemingly unstoppable threat to all things dear to his heart, he and Aunt Min turn time and time again to the words and worlds of children’s literature for comfort, reassurance, and guidance. The way in which Eddie attempts to take on Ms. Grisch and in turn inspires the Squishers of Ferny Creek and beyond are wonderfully written; inspired and full of heart. Bailey’s storytelling is strong, clear and passionate; Jamieson’s clean, unfussy black-and-white illustrations are evenly distributed throughout the novel, rendering characters and scenes to great affect. Almost reading as a love letter to the magic of storytelling, libraries (and librarians!), The Tiny Hero of Ferny Creek Library is a sparkling and truly fortifying kind of read.

Any reader who has ever fallen in love with Charlotte and Wilbur, or other similar fictional favourites might adore the story and characters in The Tiny Hero of Ferny Creek Library. Eddie is a curious, fervent and genuinely brave protagonist to root for, with Ms. Grisch as the perfect villain and antidote to Eddie’s innate kindness. Those who enjoy the work of authors such as Kate DiCamillo, George Sheldon, Elise Broach, Kathi Appelt, E.B. White or Laurel Snyder (and really, any library lover or ardent read out there!), might especially appreciate Linda Bailey’s stirring and beautifully optimistic read.

I received a copy of this title courtesy of Penguin Random House Canada/Tundra Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and comments are my own.