The Midnight Library

by Kazuno Kohara

Once there was a library which opened only at night... When we are fast asleep in bed, the Midnight Library opens its doors to all the night-time animals. Inside the library the little librarian and her three assistant owls help each and every animal find the perfect book. But tonight is a very busy one...

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Storytime, Books About Books, Fiction, Fantasy

26 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Kazuno Kohara grew up in Japan and moved to the U.K. as a student. She is the author of Here Comes Jack Frost and Ghosts in the House! She lives in London, England.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/kazuno...

Reviews

[Sheri]

The Midnight Library is a friendly place to visit with a librarian that is a real people-pleaser. Cute illustrations and a nice introduction to the work of a librarian.

[Mir]

So cute. In fact, too cute. I quite admire Kohara's graphic skills, especially the balance of spaces and light/dark, but for me, too cute.



Also, too facile at times. I especially thought this about the scene when the one library patron cries and doesn't want to finish the book because there was a sad part, and the librarians reassure her that it has a happy ending. Not all stories have happy endings. And that is actually something you should probably be prepared to talk to kids about.

But anyway, nice idea, cute execution. I'm sure many kids will enjoy imagining going to the library with cute animals that apparently do not eat one another and are also up at night despite not all being nocturnal.

[Tina Haigler]

Honestly I absolutely adored this book. I loved everything about it. It's perfect for both book lovers and animal lovers. The story itself is precious and the artwork is quite wonderful. I truly enjoy finding books where I am as thrilled with the artwork as I am with the story. I loved the thick lines, and the fact that the artist only used three colors. Très magnifique! It's great at any age and would make an excellent addition to your bookshelf.

[Hilary]

2.5 stars

Although I do like this illustrators style this didn’t live up to some of the other books this author has created. A nice enough storyline. Not one I would want to read more than once to a child.

[Jon Nakapalau]

I have become a big Kazuno Kohara fan...the art is 'retro-Halloween advert' and wonderful.

[Susan]

Take a normal thing - a library - and turn it upside down - make it a library only open at night. Take a librarian and make the librarian a little girl who has three owl assistants. Make the library patrons squirrels and turtles, fox, goats, sheep cats....well you've got the idea: fun!
As a children's librarian, I am partial to library stories but this one I particularly liked. It would be a great story to read for first time class visits that introduces how to act in a library in a gentle and memorable manner.
But it's also just a fun idea done well.

[Cheryl]

Text is superfluous and distracting - pictures are so wonderful they almost tell the whole story by themselves. Perhaps a truly gifted writer could have created something as graceful as Good Night Moon or Where the Wild Things Are... after all, I think I actually prefer the illustrative style of this book even over those beloved classics... so, if the art is that good, make sure it's the focus!

[Kathryn]

This is really darling, even if the premise is a bit too reminiscent of Don Freeman's "There's a Canary in the Library" (sorry, the insert link feature is not working) with a little girl with pigtails working in a library patronized by animals and dealing with the various needs. But, it's so darn cute I'm willing to forgive the slight lack of originality. The illustrations themselves are unique and winsome and my boys and I smiled all the way through this.

[kezzie ʚ♡ɞ]

✩ 5 𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓻𝓼
~
this book is sooo prettyyy

[Abigail]

A little librarian and her three owl assistants keep the eponymous Midnight Library running smoothly in this sweet picture-book from Japanese author/illustrator Kazuno Kohara. Helping all of the animal patrons find that right book, making sure the squirrel band finds a place to practice their music, reassuring a distraught little wolf that her story will turn out well, the librarian keeps busy...

Having enjoyed Kohara's Ghosts in the House! and Here Comes Jack Frost , I decided to track down The Midnight Library, and I'm glad that I did. The simple text and cute, graphically-striking artwork combine to create an appealing little confection of a picture-book, one that would make an excellent bedtime read-aloud, especially for young children who love the library.

[Chenoa]

The sun goes down, the stars flicker on, and the Midnight Library opens its doors...

I saw this picture book featured on my own library's website a couple of days ago and thought it sounded too cute not to put a request on. Kohara's story features a library that's only open from midnight to dawn, visited by adorable book-loving animals, and employs helpful owls as library assistants (...Are they hiring? Because I will put in my two weeks notice right now).

Illustrated in colors of yellow moonlight and deep blue shadows, this whimsical children's book is sure to make any reader wish that they could be "the little librarian" at their own woodland branch.

[Laila]

This is librarian catnip. Purr. So fantastic!

[Alice-Elizabeth (Prolific Reader Alice)]

A cute story about a library that comes alive at night-time and is full of animals that are nocturnal. It is run by owls and on this particular night, there are lots of customers and lots of issues to solve. I really enjoyed this, fast-paced with an array of characters.

[Nicole]

A cute story, mostly because it is about a child librarian and her adorable owl assistants. This is not a particularly noteworthy or memorable picture book and probably not a great choice for a story time either. I would recommend it for an easy library or nighttime themed bedtime story to patrons.

[Molly]

Why does the tiny librarian live in the library with no adult supervision? Are the three owls her children?

I HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT THE LOGIC OF THIS MONOGRAPH.

It's really cute, though, and I'm all for any portrayal of libraries as friendly, helpful places. You know, what with the damage that shows like Parks & Recreation and podcasts like Welcome to Nightvale have done to the reputation of libraries and librarians everywhere.

[Andrea Haas]

I'm in love with the art style in this picture book! And it takes place in a library. It's very sweet and a great book to introduce library etiquette to a young group.

[Liliana]

Super adorable

[Moonkiszt]

Featured in grandma reads session.

There's a midnight library out there, people! It's where the animals go while people sleep, where they get their reading fix to manage their animal lives. . .

All members of my group are library-goers, so this was believed as a right and proper way for animals to exist and live their best lives. Much discussion followed.

[Andi Lo]

Es una historia corta y linda, ideal para relajarse e imaginar.

[Michelle]

The palette threw me off but the art style is cute and I love books like the little girl in the story

[Cristina Quattrone]

All vibes and not much plot, but still cute

[April]

Super cute book! I love reading, I love owls, and libraries rule! I hope this is what happens in libraries at night.

[Barbara]

With bright and dark colors and woodblock print illustrations, this picture book describes some of the responsibilities of a librarian. In this case, the librarian is a friendly and kind-hearted girl who remains unflappable even when several animals enter the library and cause problems. She and her assistants, three owls, somehow manage to deal with all the challenges of the job, even helping one very slow reader check out a book so he has enough time to finish reading his book. The story itself is rather sweet and could provide a useful introduction to the library for very young readers unfamiliar with the library.

[RJ]

Sweet, sweet, sweet. A wolf cries because a book hurts their feelings.

Update: I've used this book in a few storytimes now and it occurs to me it is also an EXCELLENT depiction of librarianship in a picture book! No shushing or shaming, and includes a diversity of things you can do at a library (sign up for a card, take books home, hear storytelling, practice with your band). The nightime theme makes it unique and easy to transition into other storytime activities (songs/rhymes about night, or conversely, "their library's only open at night but ours is open in daytime so let's sing this song about the sun/waking up/etc."). I love this book!

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer]

What I liked best about this book were the colors--the entire book was printed in black, deep blue, and moon yellow, so that you felt like you were actually reading the book at night. I like the whole idea of a library open only at night, just for animals. Kohara covered several of the functions of a librarian when describing how the young girl helped several of them. And then she gets to live in the attic during the day! Cool book. Recommended.

[robyn]

I LOVED this story and it is the simplicity of the story I love. Also, while some lament the story not being exciting, such can be the life of a librarian. But HELPFUL, INFORMED, EMPATHETIC, PROBLEM SOLVING - that's the life of a librarian. This librarian is helpful, supportive, knows her audience, knows the stories. Kohara's illustrations are always striking and this book is no exception. Even the concepts of diversity of patrons AND needs is commendable.

[Laura]

A young girl and her three owl assistants work at a library that's only open at night. They help squirrels find a place to practice their music, recommend a book to a crying wolf, and let a tortoise check out a library book. Sweet, kind, and calming. A great bedtime or library read. Recommended for preschool through kindergarten.

[Noa]

One of the best illustrated books I've been lucky to read.

[Miss Ryoko]

This is a picture book representation of my dream life. Seriously. I want to run a midnight library for animals with my 3 owl assistants.

[Alyssa Mandell]

The colors and title is misleading, I thought it would be a spooky library...it is not.