Sass and Traz Save the Library is a story about two children who love their library so much, that when the mayor wants to bulldoze it down, they will stop at nothing to save it from demolition. Written by Michelle Worthington, illustrated by Naomi Greaves, and published by Daisy Lane Publishing.
Sassafras and Alcatraz are twins who spend Saturday mornings in the library while their Mum coaches the football team on the field below. It is during these hours that the Librarian, Ms Burns, creates a world of wonder through books she introduces them to.
On one of their Saturday visits, Ms Burns is very upset. She tells the twins that the Mayor will be closing the Library and the bulldozers will be arriving on Monday. The twins are very upset by this news. They love Ms Burns and the books she lends to them.
Ms Burns asks Sass to go downstairs to bring up cardboard boxes so they can pack up the books. In the basement there is an old metal card catalogue cabinet that held all the cards for the books in the library, using the Dewey system. When Sass thought of who would be able to help them to save the library and leant on the metal cabinet. Whoever she thought of popped up in the library. Various book characters appear throughout the story. Using this magical phenomenon, a plan was hatched and the Mayor was asked to come to the library.
The last character was thought of by the Mayor, but he didn’t know of course. Dinosaurs ran around the library. The poor mayor thought he was hallucinating and said he would stop the bulldozers until after he had a long holiday.
And that was how the Library was saved.
This chapter book is written for 4 to 9 years old children. Each chapter starts with a picture of what that chapter will be about. Blue Bear says he likes this idea because it gives the reader something to think about before reading each chapter. He likes how fun the illustrations are and how each chapter number fits into the illustrations.
I think this book is a wonderful tribute to all Librarians. Those wonderful people who create a safe place to enjoy and get lost in the world of books, magic and stories. I always loved the library but always found the Dewey system difficult to remember. My Mum used to work in a Library and still remembers the Dewey system. This is a great book to introduce children to how the Dewey system works.
Thanks to Books On Tour PR & Marketing for organising the blog campaign which this blog is a part of.
Educational activities
Writing activity
– Which book character would you like to meet and why?
Library activity
- Create a treasure hunt to assist the teaching of the dewy system.
Critical thinking activity
This activity can be completed in small groups.
- If you had to save your Library, how would do it?
- Create a campaign to save your library.