'A passionate campaign brings four best friends back together in a fight to save their school library in this heartfelt tale from the bestselling author of Pages & Co.
'The library is Hetty's very favourite place in school, and since falling out with her best friends Ali, Mei and Rocket she's been spending even more time there. So she's absolutely horrified when she learns that her head teacher is planning to close it down, claiming there aren't enough funds to keep the library going. There's no way Hetty's going to sit back and let this happen. But can she repair her broken friendships and build support for her library campaign? Let the Battle of the Books commence!'
The latest Barrington Stoke release tells a tale about the magic of books, and how important libraries are for people of all ages, but especially children.
Hetty loves books, and loves the library. Whether it's the public library, or the one in her school, it's her favourite place to be. And now that she and her three best friends, Ali, Mei, and Rocket, have moved into senior school the new library is even better. Not only does it have a lovely librarian, Ms Juster, but its where all of the clubs and activities meet up to spend time together. Whether it's book club, the school newspaper, film club, or folks playing Dungeons and Dragons, it's the social heart of the school. So when the news comes out that the library is closing down it comes as a blow to everyone.
Hetty is distraught at the news, and is even more upset when she finds out that the closure will mean that Ms Juster will be losing her job too. She can't handle the idea of losing the library, so comes up with a plan to try and stop it; but when she discovers that the headmaster might not be being completely honest about the closure things get even more serious.
The book is written from Hetty's point of view, and is very conversational in its tone, and includes some moments where Hetty has small asides and makes some silly comments that makes it feel like a book a lot of young readers will get on well with. It read like they'd be chatting to a peer, rather than being spoken down to by an adult. She has a lot of spunk to her, a lot of passion and vigour that I think that children will enjoy. There are times where she can come across as a bit unlikable, and she's not perfect by any means; but I think this makes her more realistic for sure.
It's not just books and the importance of libraries that are covered in the book though, but also takes a look at the importance of friendship, communication, and how forgiveness and understanding can make a big difference. It's a short book, so it's great that Anna James managed to squeeze in some personal drama for Hetty and her friends to deal with too, to give the story a little something extra to do.
The book has some lovely illustrations included, provided by Jez Tuya, that takes some for the key moments from the story and brings them to life. The artwork is on display on the front cover, and looks lovely. The illustrations help to break up the story, and even provides some helpful information, such as giving us diagrams of the layout of the library.
Hetty and the Battle of the Books is a delightful little story about the importance of books, and social spaces for children. It teaches kids about how standing up against injustice is both important, and needed at times too; which in todays world is a very important lesson to teach the next generation.
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