Anne Carroll Moore defied expectations for girls and young women growing up in the late nineteenth century, and redefined library services to children in the first part of the twentieth century with the radical idea that libraries should be places that welcome young people. She advocated for spaces designed just for children, and collections and services built around their needs. A child-centered narrative with a delightful refrain detailing time and time again the way Anne Carroll Moore "thought otherwise"-saw beyond what was to what she wanted and the way she thought things should be-is full of engaging details in both the story and Debby Atwell's charming, folk-inspired art. "Today libraries across America have thousands of books for children. And thanks to the help of a little girl from Limerick, Maine, who had ideas of her own, any child can choose a book from a library shelf, curl up in a comfortable seat to look through it-and then take it home to read." (Ages 5-9)

Once upon a time, American children could not take books home from the library. They were not even allowed to enter many libraries. Adults thought that children would ruin the library books with their dirty hands. They would never remember to bring library books back. And reading just wasn't very important for children, especially not for girls. Luckily Miss Anne Carroll Moore thought otherwise! This is the true story of how Miss Moore created the first children's room at the New York Public Library, a bright, warm room filled with artwork, window seats, and most important of all, borrowing privileges to the world's best children's books in many different languages.