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“The Horseback Librarians” by Jane Yolen; illustrated by Alexandra Badiu

About Blog Post Jan 5, 2024 by SCLSNJ Staff
“The Horseback Librarians” by Jane Yolen; illustrated by Alexandra Badiu Review by John Mullarkey, youth services library assistant at the Hillsborough Library A story of librarians who went to great lengths to extend literacy during the Great Depression as told by Jane Yolen. “The Horseback Librarians” was inspired by Yolen’s late husband who grew up in rural West Virginia during the Great Depression and knew of a group of librarians who branched out and traveled through the backwoods of Kentucky to bring books to families living in mountain regions far away from population bases. Thus the librarian in the story, named Anna Mary (rhymes with library), is fictional but based on the actual librarians. It is an amazing tale -– similar to another great picture book, “That Book Woman” by Heather Henson.  Both young and old will find the story inspiring given the relative ease of access to literature and related media in modern times. Alexandra Badiu’s artwork complements the story very well — depicting the country settings and the hardscrabble landscapes of the rural South and the travels taken by Anna Mary.
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