Nia and the New Free Library

by Ian Lendler, Mark Pett (Illustrator)

This picture book tells the story of one girl who reminds an entire town of the joy of books.

When the town's old library is destroyed by a tornado, the people are left wondering: What should they do with the space where the library used to be?

The characters in Nia and the New Free Library all want different things: the builder wants there to be a new skyscraper, the grocer wants a new parking lot, but Nia just wants a new library . . . but how can one person build a whole library?

• Explores the power of community and what a group can accomplish
• Teaches the importance of working together toward a common goal
• Reminds readers of the important role libraries play in community, and how they work

Sometimes the biggest things can start with almost nothing at all.

Ian Lendler and Mark Pett bring humor and heart to this clever twist on the classic "Stone Soup" folktale.

• This triumphant ode to the magic of sharing stories is sure to strike a chord with bibliophiles of all genres, ages, and stripes.
• Resonates year-round as a go-to birthday or holiday gift for book-loving kids
• Perfect for children ages 5 to 8 years old
• Great gift for parents and grandparents, as well as librarians, teachers, and educators
• Add it to the shelf with books like Stone Soup by Marcia Brown, Delivering Your Mail by Ann Owen, and Seeds and Trees by Brandon Walden.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Books About Books, Fiction, Juvenile, Humor, Storytime

40 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2021

About the author

Ian Lendler is, first and foremost, a person. After that, the details get a bit sketchy. We’re pretty sure he has two arms and two legs. There are rumors of a third thumb, which you may laugh about now but let’s see what you think 1,000 years from now when evolution decides that three thumbs is way better because you can use can-openers more efficiently and hitchhike with aplomb and everyone will laugh about the old days when everyone was a “two-thumber.”

But I digress.

I am a writer. I grew up in Connecticut and NYC, but now I live near San Francisco, CA. My books are below. I sincerely hope you enjoy them. Thank you for visiting.

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

What does it take to bring a library to a town when one is no longer there?

Nia, decided a library was important to have in her town since the last one was not replaced after a tornado destroyed it.

So, she started to write books and made them available for the townspeople to read. But when they found errors in her books, they wanted to correct them. And so, more and more books were written by everyone in town, too.

When there were too many books that were overcrowding the landscape, what now?

Will Nia get the town to build a New Free Library? (No spoilers from me.)

Can the ambitions of one girl change the minds of the townspeople to love a library the way she did?

Reading Level: Ages 5 – 8 years

[Ms. B · Rating 3 out of 5]

It takes a village to build a library in this homage to the author's grandfather's hometown.

[Biggertony · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! This is one of those stories that just feels as though it's been around forever, like Stone Soup. It's sweet, and charming, and clever, and filled with heart. The author does a wonderful job of bringing Nia and her community to life so that they can bring their library back to life. Almost immediately after reading it, my kids asked me to take them to the library--job accomplished! They also enjoyed the illustrations, which were very sweet. Recommended for anyone looking to teach kids the value of community, collaboration, and the often under-appreciated public library system!

[RJ · Rating 2 out of 5]

(exasperated sigh)

On the one hand, I do like how this book emphasizes that libraries are places for creating and learning and connecting, not just storing books?

On the other hand....... it is incredibly cynical in some places (no one uses libraries and kids be on their phones, amiright) and very flippant in others (the sigh of relief I made when Nia said "wait, we don't have a librarian!"..... and the way my stomach flopped when the solution was "all of the townspeople volunteer to be librarians!! requires no education, infrastructure, or wages!!") in ways that really undermine the message.

I am left feeling like this picture book devalues libraries as much as it values them.

[Mae Respicio · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a lovely, meaningful, and fun story—all about the power of books and community. A total charmer!

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would have been a 5 if the end hadn't insinuated any person off the street can act as librarian :|

[Rainbow Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspired by the author’s experience at the grand opening of the library in his childhood home, Nia and the New Free Library by Ian Lendler is a delightful picture book retelling the classic folktale Stone Soup.

It all starts off quite dramatically, with the Littletown Library being swept away by a tornado after years of neglect. Everyone has a different idea about what to do with the space, but a clever girl named Nia wants to rebuild the library. The town isn’t convinced, but Nia comes up with a plan to change their minds.

Nia gathers at her favorite place, under the tree in front of the library that was, and begins writing. She doesn’t stop until she has a wagon full of books. She begins to offer them to townspeople, creating the New Free Library. When the townspeople find that the tales aren’t exactly as they remembered, Nia hands them a pencil and encourages them to fix the errors. Before they know it, the whole town has rallied together to make the New Free Library the best library the town has ever seen.

Nia and the New Free Library is a clever story about the way communities come together. I am looking forward to my local library fully reopening, and I can’t wait to see my community coming back after the pandemic to learn, share, and create together again. But for now, I will happily settle for Nia’s New Library.

The illustrations by Mark Pett are fantastic. The level of detail put into capturing the individual personality of each townsperson was so impressive – from the mayor, all the way to the distracted mom and her son, I felt like I understood the characters right away.

Ian Lendler is a journalist and award-winning author based in the San Francisco Bay Area. To learn more about him and his work (including picture books, nonfiction, and graphic novels), please visit his website at ianlendler.com.

Mark Pett is an author and illustrator (or “authorstrator”) of several books for children, and is based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Please visit his website at markpett.com/authorstrator.

I want to thank Chronicle Kids for sending me a copy of Nia and the New Free Library. It was such a treat, and I’m sure it will bring joy to all the young readers who are missing their libraries these days.

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[Almira · Rating 5 out of 5]

When the town library is uprooted by a tornado, various people in the town have great "ideas" about what should go on the vacant land now.
Nia, lover of books, especially cookbooks, tries to convince the towns people to rebuild the library, everyone "pooh poohs" this.
So, Nia decides to take matters into her own hands.........

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tornado carries off the town's library, and no one sees the need to replace it except for Nia. Nia concocts a plan to remind the town's people of their connections to the library, and the library is rebuilt.

This is a fascinating story of how people become vested in what they do themselves.

[Elisabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

[Laure Hittle · Rating 5 out of 5]

i want to do this. Like for reals. Like host a whole library-creating community extravaganza.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like the story falls flat a bit and is also pretty inaccurate of how libraries work in reality; however, the author does a good job of emphasizing community, importance of community spaces, and the fact that libraries are different today. I think the book also shows how most people misunderstand the library and all of the different services and programs does for its local community.

[Erin]

I love the community aspects of this book and the Stone Soup reveal at the end. I love that the library starts out as a little-valued asset, but then the community gets more and more involved, interested, and appreciative. And the final library scene does a great job showing the connective nature of libraries: not just books, but also programming and technology. But I have some serious questions about how this portrays libraries as well.

I'm not usually this librarian, but librarians *don't* typically write the books in the library, librarians *aren't* usually volunteers, and librarians are generally expected to have an advanced degree in Library or Information Science. And libraries are not staffed just by librarians, but also pages who shelve books, catalogers who make sure each book is searchable, processors who make sure each book is findable, maintenance workers who keep the building in good shape, and many other employees (including volunteers) who help keep the library running. (While sometimes all these jobs are done by few people, the reality is that they are each unique tasks within the library.) This was cute, with really charming and diverse illustrations, but it left me feeling a little wrong-footed.

In some ways it reminded me of Red Knit Cap Girl and the Reading Tree, which has the same community vibe, demonstrates how different skills and items are necessary for a good library, but does not pretend to describe an actual library.

[Elaine Bearden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ages 4-grade 4, maybe 5th
Great story to motivate kids to write their own stories, slyly based on Stone Soup, though you may not realize it until towards the end. Would be great to read-aloud at the beginning of a session. It would probably take 10-15 minutes, but doesn't seem overly text heavy. Great child-powered story, reminiscent of Imogene's Last Stand by Candace Fleming. This gets at the bigger ideas of the value of a library, too.

[Beenee Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a cute book and I honestly teared up a little because Nia didn’t just rally the town into building a new library building. She literally wrote books and got everyone excited and invested in the library from the books up! I absolutely LOVE this book!!

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young girl named Nia single-handedly convinces her fellow skeptical citizens that the town library destroyed in a tornado must be rebuilt.

[Taylor Galloway · Rating 5 out of 5]

The library of Littletown was never appreciated as much as it should have been. It took a tornado sweeping the Littletown Library up for the community to realize the importance of a library. Once the Littletown Library is swept away, community members have different ideas for the space, such as a parking lot or a big skyscraper. However, a little girl named Nia had a different idea; she wanted to rebuild the library, but no one paid her any mind. So, Nia took things into her own hands. She began writing books day after day, and soon members of the community became interested. Whenever they would read one of Nia's books that they thought was one they already knew, and they noticed a mistake, she just gave them a pencil and told them to fix it. Soon the 'free library' grew larger and larger, and the community members decided they needed a place to store all the new books they created, so a new library was built with the help of everyone in the town.

The illustrations in this story are done in a way that readers can follow along with. For instance, on one page, in particular, we see different illustrations of Nia sitting under the tree writing stories, but they are all presented on the same page. The way the illustrator presented them is very easy for readers to follow and see the amount of time that has passed between each illustration. Readers can see that time has passed by paying attention to what is presented in each illustration. Such as the pages Nia has stacked next to her increasing as the illustrations move along.

Overall, this is a great book to have inside my classroom library since the author portrays many important messages that students will greatly benefit from hearing. This story explores the power of community, teaches the importance of working together, and will be a great reminder for students how important the role a library plays in a community.

[Stacie · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a resident of a small town and member of our library board, I know how important a library can be to a community. We built a new library in our town several years ago and being a part of that committee, raising money, and making decisions about the design is one of my proudest accomplishments.

Nia lives in Littletown and the town’s library had slowly become unnoticed by the residents of her community. The hustle and bustle of life had taken over and no one seemed to notice the library, except for Nia. It was her favorite place. Then a tornado came and took the library away. When the town came together to decide what to put in that empty space, no one suggested a library, except for Nia.

Nia made the residents see that they too missed the library with a bit of childhood reverse psychology and soon a new library was being built. But, it took the entire community to come together to make it happen.

I love the message in this story and think every library needs to have a copy of this book sitting on its shelf. Nia brings her community together for a purpose, building and restocking a new library. But, beyond that, she also makes the citizens realize that they NEED a library in their town.

Pett’s illustrations have a 1970s “Schoolhouse Rock” feel and his people illustrations are so fun…giving each community member their own role and personality in the story. The illustrations give the story that personal feel where kids reading this book will feel like they too could make a difference.

I love how this book shows that kids can have big ideas too. Reading this book may just encourage you to visit your library too!

[Alyssa Hicks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nia and the Little Free Library is a touching and inspiring story about a young girl named Nia who has an unshakable love for books. When a tornado destroys her town’s library, the community begins to lose its connection to reading. While others consider replacing the library with a new building, Nia refuses to let the magic of stories disappear.

Driven by her passion, Nia begins rewriting her favorite books from memory. Her determination sparks something powerful—soon, others in the community join her, sharing their own stories and memories of beloved books. What begins as one girl’s effort turns into a movement that rekindles the town’s love for reading and storytelling. Together, they create a new library, built not just with bricks, but with imagination, hope, and unity.

I was deeply moved by this story. Nia’s resilience and creativity show how one person’s passion can inspire an entire community. The book beautifully highlights themes of rebuilding, the importance of stories, and the strength found in coming together.

The illustrations are vibrant and full of warmth, perfectly capturing the hopeful spirit of the story. I would wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who believes in the transformative power of books and the importance of community.

[Debbie Jo · Rating 2 out of 5]

This could have been a fantastic book - but in the end it was a disappointment. Nia seems to be the only person who values the local library. She begins to write books & share them with people - who notice mistakes. Nia has been writing her versions of books she’s read. People begin to correct the books & write more. They do build a library & there is a ribbon cutting about to happen - when Nia says “We have a library. But we don’t have a librarian.” The mayor asks “Does anyone here want to be the librarian?” Everyone raises their hand - and Nia says “That should fix it” - and the library opens.

I have no idea why there was no actual librarian for the library. The author’s note acknowledges the Head Librarian for the library his grandfather helped bring to his town. As a school librarian, the omission of a librarian hits close to home. Too many school districts no longer have librarians & this book seems to suggest that librarians aren’t at the heart of libraries.

Before reading the book, I thought Nia was going to have a Little Free Library. That would have been a fine way for Nia to share her love of reading & books.

[Sirah · Rating 5 out of 5]

When the old library in Nia's town is stolen by a tornado, everyone has ideas for what to do with the space. Maybe a parking lot. Maybe a skyscrapter. Nia, apparently one of the few regular readers at the erstwhile library, has other ideas. With a bit of determination, creativity and orange slices for energy, she invites others to work with her to make something worthwhile and that the whole community can be proud of.

Of course I love libraries, but this book stands out for two more important reasons. First is Nia's character. I love that she doesn't cry, doesn't pout, doesn't get mad. She sees a problem and she does something about it, but she's happy to invite others in. The other thing I love is the way this problem is solved. Sometimes we look at a problem (a new library is too expensive and too time-consuming and not useful) and it's too big. Yet Nia takes it one page at a time, and between her persistence and the contributions of everyone in the town, they're able to make the problem surmountable. I'd love to see more of this tucked into children's books.

[Gretchen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was going to be about a girl who created one of the "new" tiny free libraries but it turned out to be much more. When the neighborhood library is swept away by a tornado, the town isn't exactly upset. Many people think the land could be used for better things. Nia thinks the best use for the land is a new library. To fulfill her need for books and help remind others how wonderful they are, Nia creates a number of new books and begins to lend them out to others. Nia's books inspire people to remember how wonderful story reading and writing is and soon the town has changed. One of the things I really liked about the book was the demonstration of that great connection between reading and writing. The more you read, the more you might like to write and vice versa. It also reminds the reader about the wonder of the library not just for book reading but for being a key part of the growth in a community. Really liked this book.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

“But the began to remember words and ideas that had inspired them.”

When the small, shabby public library gets blown away by a tornado, the townspeople don’t see the importance or financial feasibility of rebuilding the library. Nia sees differently. So Nia begins to rebuild the library on her own by writing books. As she starts to show her books to people in town, they find fault with them, so she hands them a pencil and says “maybe you can fix it.”

Soon, the whole town is contributing to this new free library. “There were so many books that they spilled into the road and stopped traffic.” All the townspeople arrive at the decision that they need to build a structure to hold all these books and the project begins. And soon, the Littletown’s New Free Library is a vibrant part of the community again.

I love how Nia slowly draws her community in to the understanding of how important a library is for the town. A definite addition to my school library.

[Aolund · Rating 4 out of 5]

When the town’s library is swept off in a tornado, at first no one but Nia thinks it’s worth replacing—who uses libraries anymore, anyway? But when Nia (depicted with tan skin and brown hair) decides to start writing books to create a new library, it’s not long before the whole town becomes involved in the enterprise, eventually leading them to create a new library to house all of their creations. A really touching and funny story about teamwork and spaces that make community meaningful.

Also, while I can’t say I loved the part where a White man is shown misinterpreting a line from Maya Angelou’s Still I Rise, it’s not like that couldn’t happen in real life—and it would actually be useful to break down this microaggression with students.

Themes: New, Building, Work Together, Community
Age range: Prek-First grade

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cried. This story was my childhood and adulthood all in one. It was so special.

When the local library is taken away by a wizard of oz sized tornado, the little town decides not to rebuild... who needs a library, after all? Nia misses her books and starts to write, and write, and write. Soo. She has a free library on the back of her wagon and hands out the books to the people. They want to change the stories and soon everyone is reading and writing and drawing their own books until the stacks of books are so high and wide they are blocking the street! Hmm, maybe we need... A LIBRARY to organize all the books!! 😁 📚

I love how the author brought in some of the reasons we need books and libraries and community, as well as included pieces from favorite children's books like Stone Soup!!
#librarianapproved

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

When a tornado destroys the town library, the town is only interested in how the space will be used. Nia totally disagrees with this attitude and begins writing her own books and eventually gets the community interested in books and reading again. What works: Nia getting the community invested in having a library and making it a community effort. What doesn't: Everyone writing stories from memory and not giving credit to the original authors will be confusing. Even though the tone at times wavers between preachy and sarcastic, it does strongly advocate for libraries and librarians in a way that young readers can understand and appreciate. This will be a useful picture book when introducing the public library.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fictional story inspired by the author's real-life experience, Nia and the New Free Library shows how one girl can bring a whole town together to rebuild (and rewrite) a library. Bordering on ridiculously unrealistic, I still thought it was fun to talk about how someone might go about rebuilding a library in real life versus Nia's fictional approach, and how people can work together to accomplish great things.

I chose to share this story with my fourth-grade classes for a National School Library Month lesson because I liked the discussion possibilities and because I felt like they needed a little break from all the non-fiction, historical and biographical stories I've been teaching recently.

Story: 4
Illustrations: 4
Read-aloud: 4

[Ashley White · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nia and The New Free Libray
By Ian Lendler
Book about books, Storytime, Community

When the town's old library is destroyed by weather, the people are left wondering: What should they do with the space where the library used to be located.. When the builder wants there to be a new skyscraper and the grocer wants a new parking lot, What about Nia and her want of a new library? Read this book to find out how Nia works to find a new way of a library.


What format is the digital text (e.g., e-book, picturebook app, augmented reality app, digital immigrant/guided view comic, or motion book)? How do you know?
(E-book) Amazon shares it as an E-book. Can also be read through videos on YouTube.

[Edouine Champagne (MB) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I admire Nia's courage her determination to rebuild the local library. I used to work at a daycare center where we used to take trips to the library once a week. Unfortunately, everything has remained closed to the public when the pandemic hits but, the library offers curbside pickup for all materials. However, they provided that it wasn't the same for the children as when they went inside the library. They couldn't make their own choice, especially for four-year-old kids. The most exciting part of going to the library was checking books out. So I do understand where Nia's coming from. this was a good read.

[Christina Getrost · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cute picture book about libraries--I love the message that a library is an expression of its town and its people. This book is a sweet fable about a town library that has been ignored for so long that when a tornado tears it down, everyone has other ideas about what to replace it with. But young Nia wants to rebuild the library, and through her persistence--writing down all of the stories she can remember reading--she entices people one by one into helping her to get the library re-established, better than ever, with more services than just books of course. The book also kind of reminded me of Stone Soup (which of course was the intent--that's Nia's favorite book!).