The Mariah Delany Lending Library Disaster: 02/12/08

Mariah Delany always has an idea for making some extra money. She's not especially fond of books even though her parents are bibliophiles. When her mother laments about the local library being closed, Mariah sees her next great venture: turning her parents' collection into a lending library for her school chums. Things, understandably, go down hill from there.

The Mariah Delany Lending Library Disaster is a 1970s vision of BookCrossing gone horribly wrong. In their enthusiasm to finally see their daughter interested in books, Mariah's parents are blind to what she's really doing. I find it baffling that Mariah would end up such an opposite of her parents but perhaps that the personal conceit of being a parent of two budding bibliophiles.

Mariah's parents also haven't ever bothered to tell her about the gems in their collection. So to Mariah, these books are just a resource that is going to waste. The story is built around a family that never communicates.

As this book is aimed at the upper grades of elementary school, Mariah's crash course in the value of books both in monetary terms as sources of information and entertainment is a lesson for children reading the book. Of course, if they're already reading books, they probably don't need this lesson reiterated.

Comments (2)

Comment #1: Wednesday, February, 13, 2008 at 10:48:59

Breeni Books

Trust me, it's possible. No matter what influence I've had in his almost nine years in this world, my son consistently asserts that he does not like to read. (Every time I catch him reading when he thinks no one is looking, I know he's just trying to keep me riled up with his anti-book campaign. But if you asked him, he'd definitely tell you he hates books.)"

Comment #2: Wednesday, February, 13, 2008 at 11:54:56

Tempest Knight

Sounds like an interesting read for my youngest goddaughter. :) "