Miss Dorothy and Her Bookmobile

Miss Dorothy and Her Bookmobile is a charming introduction to children of how a young girl’s dream came to fruition. As a child, Dorothy loved books and people and decided she wanted to become a librarian when she grew up. She envisioned herself one day working at the brick library in her small Massachusetts town.

Dorothy attended college and read everything she got her hands on. She then attained her library degree and after graduation looked forward to working in her hometown library. Instead, she fell in love, married, and moved to a farm in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.

Dorothy loved her land and gardens but before long, she had read all her own books. She started sharing her books as well as the bounty from her gardens with her new friends and neighbors; however, there was no library nearby, which made Dorothy sad.

The town’s people held a meeting deciding they needed a library. The oldest citizen suggested they buy a bookmobile so all the folks in the area could have a chance to get reading material. They all agreed to have Dorothy run the mobile library. Soon they were bringing her books, which she stored in her basement. Dorothy traveled through the hills and valleys lending books to all who requested them. She even went to some people’s homes . . . especially that of Mrs. Maumey, an elderly woman who could not get to the bookmobile on her own.

The author pens that Miss Dorothy was her childhood hero, and her prose reflects just that. One can feel the love infused in this story, not only through the text, but also in the warm, pastel-hued, realistic illustrations that add special flavor. Showing how one woman took a childhood dream and made it reality demonstrates that anything is possible, imparting an insightful lesson to the young reader.