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The Library Dragon
A funny, playful salute to the value of books and libraries from the New York Times best-selling and beloved author Carmen Agra Deedy.
Sunrise Elementary School had a BIG problem. Their new librarian was a real Dragon!
When Miss Lotta Scales read an ad for a thick-skinned librarian with a burning love of books, she knew she was perfect for the job. After all, who could guard books better than a real dragon?
She took her job seriously: hundreds of new, clean books replaced the old, smudged ones. The thought of sticky little fingers touching and clutching her precious books made her hot under the collar! The principal tried to reason with her, and she singed his tie. The teachers sent a delegation, including sweet Miss Lemon, who told her “the library belongs to the children,” but they were all sent away scorched.
When nearsighted Molly Brickmeyer stumbled into the library looking for her glasses, she bumped into a shelf, and a book tumbled into her hands. As she began to read aloud, and the children came to listen, they came face to face with Miss Lotta Scales. Could a book read out loud temper the flames of the school’s hot-headed librarian?
Often used to introduce the library during the first week of school, this classic picture book is reissued with an author’s note and a QR code to access an audio recording read by the author.
Sunrise Elementary School had a BIG problem. Their new librarian was a real Dragon!
When Miss Lotta Scales read an ad for a thick-skinned librarian with a burning love of books, she knew she was perfect for the job. After all, who could guard books better than a real dragon?
She took her job seriously: hundreds of new, clean books replaced the old, smudged ones. The thought of sticky little fingers touching and clutching her precious books made her hot under the collar! The principal tried to reason with her, and she singed his tie. The teachers sent a delegation, including sweet Miss Lemon, who told her “the library belongs to the children,” but they were all sent away scorched.
When nearsighted Molly Brickmeyer stumbled into the library looking for her glasses, she bumped into a shelf, and a book tumbled into her hands. As she began to read aloud, and the children came to listen, they came face to face with Miss Lotta Scales. Could a book read out loud temper the flames of the school’s hot-headed librarian?
Often used to introduce the library during the first week of school, this classic picture book is reissued with an author’s note and a QR code to access an audio recording read by the author.
- GenresPicture Books
32 pages, Hardcover
Published October 1, 2024
3 people want to read
About the author
Carmen Agra Deedy
28 books143 followersCarmen Agra Deedy is an internationally known author of children’s literature, a storyteller and radio contributor. Born in Havana, Cuba, she immigrated to the United States with her family in 1963 after the Cuban Revolution. Deedy grew up in Decatur, Georgia and currently lives in Atlanta and has three daughters.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 18, 2025
Has it been 30 years already since the The Library Dragon by Carmen Agra Deedy came out?! I'll be dating myself here but I was eight when this first came out and now I work in the Children's Department of the Moline Public Library.
While the book is a classic I would file it under more of a nostalgia read. The illustrations are dated and I am happy to report that kids at my library would find the idea of a mean librarian that doesn't want you to touch the books the most unbelievable part. Dragons? That makes sense. But a library that doesn't have a storytime because the children's librarian doesn't want people touching the books? Now that's fantasy.
While I wouldn't pull this out during storytime, I think this would be a great gift for anyone working in children's library services because we all sometimes feel a little bit like Miss Lotta Scales when we find snot in a book.
While the book is a classic I would file it under more of a nostalgia read. The illustrations are dated and I am happy to report that kids at my library would find the idea of a mean librarian that doesn't want you to touch the books the most unbelievable part. Dragons? That makes sense. But a library that doesn't have a storytime because the children's librarian doesn't want people touching the books? Now that's fantasy.
While I wouldn't pull this out during storytime, I think this would be a great gift for anyone working in children's library services because we all sometimes feel a little bit like Miss Lotta Scales when we find snot in a book.
November 28, 2025
We've been reading a lot of older picture books -- all the classics, like Babar, and Curious George, and The Little Engine that Could -- so we've read lots of anniversary editions. This one hurt my feelings, however, because it's a 30th anniversary edition and it first came out in 1994. Surely, that can't be 30 years old?
The new librarian is a real dragon: she won't let anyone touch the books, she won't let children into the library, she is steamed with everyone. Then a little girl helps her rediscover the joy of reading.
The new librarian is a real dragon: she won't let anyone touch the books, she won't let children into the library, she is steamed with everyone. Then a little girl helps her rediscover the joy of reading.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews