School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-What better way to cure a lost love of books than with a magic ride through the library in the middle of the night? A young Latino boy goes to bed disappointed when he receives a book for his eighth birthday and soon falls into a -restless sleep. Later that night, he is awakened by a giant lion who whisks him out of the Bronx and through Manhattan straight to the doors of the New York Public Library. The boy soon remembers where he's seen this lion before; it is Fortitude, who guards the doors of the library with his fellow lion, Patience. During his tour of the deserted library, our narrator watches books as they move, dance, and twirl through the stacks. He even recognizes some of his -favorite storybook characters as they and the stories come to life. As he witnesses the wonder of books and the library, the boy tells Fortitude that he has stopped reading because of the loss of his grandfather; reading was their favorite thing to do together. He soon learns that books, and his special memories of his grandfather, have been there all along-and they always will be. Colón's gorgeous art paired with Zeltser's text creates a dreamy, magical world in this book about books. -VERDICT Sure to inspire people of all ages to pick up a book and -experience the magic that unfolds.--Elizabeth Blake, Brooklyn Public Library © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Zeltser (Stinker) and ColA3n (Imagine!) contribute to the shelf of stories about the New York Public Library's famous lions, Patience and Fortitude. A boy wakes in the middle of the night before his eighth birthday, disappointed at his parents' birthday present, a book: "My parents knew that I liked toys, games, and movies-not books." He hears a "deep purring" outside, and a majestic marble lion appears outside his window and invites him to come and "meet Patience." At the great library, the boy is greeted by flying books that take the shapes of picture book characters the boy recalls from readaloud sessions with his grandfather, whose death he still mourns. Handsome, clearly drafted drawings by ColA3n succeed in making the book formations recognizable as Peter Rabbit, the Cat in the Hat, and the Polar Express. Predictably, the dream rekindles the boy's interest in reading. The first-person narration can sound more like an adult writer's than a boy's ("Fortitude turned and regarded me, eyes twinkling"), and extolling the value of books is a well-trod message, though Zeltser's tale, and ColA3n's renderings of the library's magnificent rooms, may well prompt its neighbors to plan a visit. Ages 3-7. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
