Feature Friday 2.7.25

Feature Friday is a new series I’ll be running on Fridays. I have so many great books to tell you about and they are piling up in my reading room. Unfortunately, there is not enough time in my day to share them all. I’m starting a new feature on my social media channels where I’ll share a quick video review of a few books including children’s, middle-grade, young adult, or adult fiction and nonfiction.

Clicking the photo of the book or item will take you to its Amazon listing. I may receive a small commission if you purchase through any links. Thanks to the publisher for the gifted copy.

JELLA LEPMAN AND HER LIBRARY OF DREAMS
The Woman Who Rescued a Generation of Children and Founded the World’s Largest Children’s Library
By: Katherine Paterson
Illustrated by: Sally Deng
Published: February 4, 2025
Publisher: Chronicle Kids
Non-Fiction/Biography

I’d be willing to bet you’ve never heard of Jella Lepman. You have probably also never heard of the International Youth Library either. Thankfully, Katherine Paterson, two-time Newbery Medal Winner and author of books like THE GREAT GILLY HOPKINS, which I read and loved in 2023, and BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA, has shared this amazing woman’s story.

Jella was sent to Germany by the military after WWII to work with women and children. Jella wasn’t too thrilled with this assignment because, as a Jewish woman, she had no interest in returning to Germany after fleeing there nine years prior. Jella, born in 1891, was a very educated woman and accomplished pianist. Her passion for music was stilted by her father so her other passion, books was to become her life’s work. At just 17, she opened a reading room for immigrant children of the families who worked in the tobacco factory. She made sure she had books in various languages so all the children could learn to read.

Fast forward several years, she became a journalist and eventually the first woman editor of Stuttgarter Neues Tagblatt (New Daily Paper). She loved her job but eventually, a man named Hitler came to rule and Jella left Germany for Italy and eventually left Italy for England. This takes us back to her arrival in Germany to be an advisor on the cultural and educational needs of women and children.

Jella had a crazy idea that the children needed books. After many books were destroyed during the war, and many libraries toppled, Jella wanted to give children the joy of reading again. She met lots of resistance, but eventually made connections with publishers and found ways to get books into the hands of children again.

Jella eventually formed the International Board on Books for Young People, known as IBBY today, and created the International Youth Library now located since 1983 in the Blutenburg Castle. Called the Book Castle, it houses 600,000 items, the largest collection of children’s books in the world near Munich, Germany.

This book is the size of a picture book but is quite thick. At just over 100 pages, it reads more like a chapter book yet with illustrations on each page. This is not a book you will read in an evening storytime but over the course of several nights. The illustrations combined with actual photographs of Jella, her family, and the children reading books give kids a real look at the formation of the organization and the joy on the children’s faces when a book was placed in their hands. This inspiring story of this amazing and selfless woman is one that everyone should know.

To purchase a copy of JELLA LEPMAN AND HER LIBRARY OF DREAMS, click HERE.

Katherine Paterson is the internationally acclaimed author of over 35 books for children and young adults. She has twice won both the Newbery Medal and the National Book Award. She received the 1998 Hans Christian Andersen Medal as well as the 2006 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for the body of her work and was the National Ambassador for Children’s Literature for the Library of Congress. Two of her best-selling books have been made into feature films – “The Bridge to Terabithia” and “The Great Gilly Hopkins”. An active promoter of reading, education, and literacy, she lives in Barre, Vermont. She has four children, seven grandchildren, and a beloved dog, Pixie. Find out more about Katherine Paterson HERE.

Sally Deng creates art for magazines, newspapers, and books and is the author-illustrator of two picture books. Her art has been recognized by multiple illustration annuals and has been exhibited in galleries across the United States. She works from her studio in Los Angeles.

Thanks to Chronicle Books for this gifted item. This review is my honest opinion.