Love in the Library

(Author) (Illustrator)
Available
4.9/5.0
21,000+ Reviews
Bookshop.org has the highest-rated customer service of any bookstore in the world
Product Details
Price
$8.99  $8.36
Publisher
Candlewick Press (MA)
Publish Date
Pages
40
Dimensions
10.6 X 9.2 X 0.2 inches | 0.4 pounds
Language
English
Type
Paperback
EAN/UPC
9781536236668

Earn by promoting books

Earn money by sharing your favorite books through our Affiliate program.

Become an affiliate
About the Author
Maggie Tokuda-Hall is the author of Also an Octopus, illustrated by Benji Davies, and the novel The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea. She lives in Oakland, California.

Yas Imamura is the illustrator of The Very Oldest Pear Tree by Nancy I. Sanders, Winged Wonders by Meeg Pincus, and other books for children. She lives in Portland, Oregon.
Reviews
Love and literature transcend hatred and incarceration in this picture book about the author's maternal grandmother, who was the librarian at the Japanese internment camp where she met and married her husband.
--The New York Times Book Review

The author's gentle text captures the resilience of human dignity and optimism even during times of immense challenge and adversity. Imamura's stunning gouache and watercolor illustrations convey both the setting and the emotions of the characters. . . Tokuda-Hall's author's note discussing her grandparents, Japanese internment camps, and the continuing impact of racism caps off this powerful must-read.
--Booklist (starred review)

Simple yet evocative. . . Fluid, dynamic gouache and watercolor illustrations by Imamura (Winged Wonders) spotlight the expressive internees' individualism amid a bleak landscape, immersing readers. . . Alongside a sensitive introduction to life in Japanese internment camps, this picture book transcends its central romance to encompass love for books, community, and being 'human.'
--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

This exquisite picture book, based on the experiences of the author's grandparents, tells a love story for the ages without sugarcoating history. . . . Illustrator Yas Imamura's soft, muted, earth-tone illustrations work wonders in bringing the characters and setting to life. Her fine, smooth lines gently capture the tenderness that permeates this tale.
--BookPage (starred review)

This lovely, inspiring story unfolds in Imamura's muted art, cushioning the harsh reality of how Japanese Americans were treated during World War II. . . . Tokuda-Hall recounts the true story of how her maternal grandmother and grandfather met in an internment camp in the 1940s and writes a stirring and heartbreaking paragraph about how '[h]ate...is an American tradition.'
--School Library Journal (starred review)

The gentle text shows how, no matter how bleak the outlook, people can find ways to hope, dream, and endure. . . . Imamura's soft, exquisite illustrations capture the physical locale, using light and shadow in powerful ways. . . . An evocative and empowering tribute to human dignity and optimism.
--Kirkus Reviews

Full-spread gouache and watercolor illustrations along with smaller vignettes immerse viewers in camp life, depicting its hardships without overwhelming young readers. An earth-toned palette nevertheless remains light and hopeful.
--The Horn Book

A revealing exposé of unjust history and an exceptional tribute to love. . . Artist Yas Imamura (The Gravity Tree) uses gouache and watercolor to create remarkable illustrations that haunt, delight and capture the couple's "improbable joy." . . . . Library books and love sustain two young Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II in Maggie Tokuda-Hall's exceptional picture book homage to her maternal grandparents.
--Shelf Awareness

Heartbreaking and heartwarming, this hopeful story shows us that beautiful things can happen even in terrible situations.
--Brightly

Based on a true story about author Maggie Tokuda-Hall's grandparents, this story shares the reality of living in an incarceration camp during WWII.
--Tinybeans