Have you ever come across a book in your collection with a dull, tattered, or downright unattractive cover—but inside, it’s pure gold? Some of the best stories are hidden behind plain, outdated, or library-rebound covers that don’t do the story inside justice. Too often, these gems get passed over simply because they don’t look exciting on the outside. But, we librarians who are readers know the gold within.
Let’s shine a light on these overlooked treasures! Robin Pack of Children's Legacy Library is sharing some of her favorite “ugly treasures,” starting with Stephen Meader’s adventure-filled books for boys. Once rare, many have been reprinted, but library-bound copies still lurk on shelves waiting to be rediscovered. Take a fresh look at your library—what hidden wonders are hiding in plain sight? Let’s celebrate them! Share your finds with us!
Picture Book Preschool is available for purchase at Biblioguides for only $10.00. Grab a copy for your library and encourage parents of preschoolers and primary age children to purchase their own list and then check out the books from your library. 100% of the proceeds will go to support The Card Catalog and all of the work we are doing to support living books lending librarians.
Sara has an article at The Card Catalog website detailing how she has adapted PBP for use in her library. Check that out here.
Also, made just for librarians who wish to use PBP in their libraries, head to this resource page which has other support resources.
Over 25 years of homeschooling and nearly 50 years of collecting books, historical fiction emerged as Sandy Hall's go-to choice for read-alouds and leisure reading. As her collection grew, she organized these books chronologically, making it easy to find engaging stories for any historical period they studied. Whether you run a lending library or simply cherish historical fiction, this curated list of nearly 1,800 titles can assist you in organizing your collection or finding a book for a specific era.
In August and September of 2024, Sara Masarik gave three talks on the importance of good and great living books. She was invited by a local classical school to aid in the faculty and staff in-service in August, and then came back to give a parent version of the talk in September. There was significant interest in the talk from lending librarians and others, so Sara gave the talk a third time in her library. By popular request, the talk was recorded and is now available for purchase! Divided into two videos, the first part is the talk itself with the slides Sara used. The second part is the Q&A from her library event. Purchase of the talk includes both videos as well as a PDF of the handout she used. 100% of the proceeds will go to support The Card Catalog and all of the work we are doing to support living books lending librarians.
Jan Bloom is the author and publisher of two beloved books, Who Should We Then Read, Volumes I and II. These two books are indispensable tools for the private lending librarian. A brief biographical sketch, a listing of titles, and suggestions for age-level reading are included for each of the 157 authors chosen for each volume. And there are also over 30 series like Landmark, Childhood of Famous Americans, We Were There, Vision, and North Star listed alphabetically and/or numerically, for all the list keepers.
Jan and her husband and sidekick, Gary, also provide a traveling bookstore with quality used books that have stood the test of time at reasonable prices. She recently published her travel schedule for the 2025 homeschool convention season, including a special offer for private lending librarians:
"Iffen any of you crazy librarians plan to come to any of the conventions we'll be doing, I'm offering a 25% discount on any purchases from Booksbloom. This is actually a better deal than the signs in our booth about free books.
BooksBloom is doing 6 conventions this year:
GHC in Greenville, SC. March 13-15.
GHC in St Charles, MO, March 27-29.
GHC in Columbus, OH, April 24-26.
FPEA in Orlando, FL, May 22-24.
CHEC in Denver, CO, June 12-14.
GHC in Round Rock, TX, July 10-12.
What SIGNAL can you use? I think if you put a book on your head and wink when you come into the booth or are ready to check out, I'll know . . ."
From Marie Vatour, Kids Christian Library in Calgary, Canada:
We are a free children's library housed in a church in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Our little Kids Christian Library will be 2 years old in July 2025. We started with word of mouth among young moms and have seen up to 40 families borrow books during that time. Our 1300 (and counting) books range from Bible stories, parables with a moral message, character building and just pure fun and fantasy that are child and family friendly. Contests and give-aways are included as well as direction for parents on the best books for individual readers. At times our bulletin board reflects a book series. This one is C. S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. Our shelving when we first began has continually needed more space! Always a good problem!!
From Carrie Naglak, Naglak Family Biblioteca, Maryland Heights, MO:
I've been having so much fun doing History and Nature clubs. Kids are having fun learning together, which is a goal of my library! As a sidenote, I think it would be so awesome to do a nation-wide tour of all our lending libraries!
From Teri Frank, Frank Fort Home Library, Caliente, NV:
My library has been open 6 months and has been set up in my living room until two weeks ago when I moved all the books to a bonus room in my home that we have been using for storage. So, my library is currently closed and undergoing renovations as we are trying to arrange books and furniture . . . and the rest of my house for that matter. Reopening soon, we hope.
From Ashley Borrego, Cornerstone Living Library in Lilburn, GA:
On Friday, March 28th, we will be celebrating all things Beatrix Potter! We will have tea and goodies, talk about her, read some of her writings, and play some fun games. And, if the weather is nice, we’ll go on a short nature walk behind the library. It should be a lot of fun! Beatrix Potter has a special place in my heart – about 6 years ago I actually traveled to England to visit her house, Hill Top, in the Lakes District.
Liz Cottrill and Emily Kiser of Living Books Library in Bristol , TN will be featured speakers at Awaken Living Books Conference in Johnson City, TN, April 4-5, 2025. The speakers at the conference will be speaking and demonstrating all aspects of a Charlotte Mason homeschool education. The Friday evening session of the conference will also include a "Table Talk" discussion on "Building a Living Books Library." Robin Pack of Children's Legacy Library in Rogersville, TN will be helping to lead the Table Talk discussion.
