Celebrate National Library Week with Books About Books

April 7th kicks of National Library Week, an annual week to celebrate all of the wonderful services provided by libraries. Did you know that libraries offer not only books, movies, and other media, but free access to the internet, programs and classes on all sorts of topics, and an all-important third space for their communities? Of course you did - you're a HarperStacks reader! But this week is a good reminder to support your local libraries by getting a library card, borrowing materials, attending programs, and voicing your support to local politicians.

It's also a great time to say, "Thank you!" to the amazing library staff who encourage a love of reading and learning. And what better way to thank a librarian than talking about books so here are some of our favorite books about books, libraries, and librarians!

For Early Readers

In what other place can a child "sail their dreams" and "surf the rainbow" without ever leaving the room? This ode to libraries is a celebration for everyone who loves stories, from seasoned readers to those just learning to love words, and it will have kids and parents alike imagining where their library can take them.


For as long as Molly can remember, it's always just been her and Dad. Dad, who likes to splash in the pool, who likes to spin at the park, who bakes the best cookies around.

But that was before Dad married Ms. Too.

Ms. Too doesn't like to splash. She doesn't like to spin. And she can't bake anything.

“But Molly, you used to love Ms. Too.”

That was before, when she was Molly’s favorite librarian. Now everything has changed.

But as Molly and Ms. Too are about to discover, maybe change isn't always scary. Maybe change can be the best thing of all.


Little Lobo and his friends are excited for the out-of-this-world book festival the Guadalupian Library hosts every year!

Everyone has a special book they're looking for, but there's so much to see and do first. From cookbook demonstrations and comics workshops to mask making and language classes, this library has something for everyone. Can Little Lobo, Bernabé, Kooky Dooky, Coco Rocho, and La Chida each find the book of their dreams?


Are you ready to meet the world’s crankiest book?

Cranky doesn’t want to be read. He just wants you to leave him alone. After all, there are so many other things you can do—ride a bike, play a game, or draw a picture. There’s no reason for you to be bothering him! But when other books show up for story time, will Cranky change his mind?


Find a tree—a
black tupelo or
dawn redwood will do—an
plant yourself.

(It’s okay if you prefer a stoop, like Langston Hughes.)

With these words, an adventure begins. Kwame Alexander’s evocative poetry and Melissa Sweet’s lush artwork come together to take readers on a sensory journey between the pages of a book.


An inspiring picture book biography of storyteller, puppeteer, and New York City’s first Puerto Rican librarian, who championed bilingual literature.

When she came to America in 1921, Pura Belpré carried the cuentos folklóricos of her Puerto Rican homeland. Finding a new home at the New York Public Library as a bilingual assistant, she turned her popular retellings into libros and spread story seeds across the land. Today, these seeds have grown into a lush landscape as generations of children and storytellers continue to share her tales and celebrate Pura’s legacy.

For Middle Grade Readers

In the third book of the original My Weird School series, the new librarian Mrs. Roopy might be A.J.'s craziest teacher yet! Before class begins, they find her dressed first as President George Washington and then Little Miss Muffet. And Mrs. Roopy won't even admit that it's her! Can A.J. and his class help their very troubled librarian before she does something really wacky?


Mary Rose and Jo-Beth are sisters who hardly ever agree on anything, but they both feel as if this night will never end. First their car runs out of gas in an unfamiliar city and their father goes in search of a gas station. Then Jo-Beth makes Mary Rose go with her to find a bathroom and they stumble across a curious old library. And then, worst of all, they get locked in! But their troubles are just beginning. Is Jo-Beth right about the library being haunted by banshees? Or is there a logical explanation, as Mary Rose claims?


Alex’s original hair-raising tales are the only thing keeping the witch Natacha happy, but soon he’ll run out of pages to read from and be trapped forever. He’s loved scary stories his whole life, and he knows most don’t have a happily ever after. Now that Alex is trapped in a true terrifying tale, he’s desperate for a different ending—and a way out of this twisted place.

Check out the sequel too!

For Teen Readers

Clara Evans is horrified when she discovers her principal’s “prohibited media” hit list. The iconic books on the list have been pulled from the library and aren’t allowed anywhere on the school’s premises. Students caught with the contraband will be sternly punished.

Many of these stories have changed Clara’s life, so she’s not going to sit back and watch while her draconian principal abuses his power. She’s going to strike back.

So Clara starts an underground library in her locker, doing a shady trade in titles like Speak and The Chocolate War. But when one of the books she loves most is connected to a tragedy she never saw coming, Clara’s forced to face her role in it.


Nothing will stop Madeline Moore from taking over her family’s independent bookstore after college. Nothing, that is—until a chain bookstore called Prologue opens across the street and threatens to shut them down.

Madeline sets out to demolish the competition, but the guy who works over at Prologue seems intent on ruining her life. Not only is he taking her customers, he has the unbelievable audacity to be… extremely cute.

But that doesn’t matter. Jasper is the enemy and he will be destroyed. After all—all’s fair in love and (book) war.


Radcliffe Prep. The third most haunted school in the country, where a student disappearance isn’t uncommon and no one dares stay in the library after dark. And Este Logano enrolls with the hopes of finding her dead father.

Not literally, of course. She doesn’t believe in ghosts. Going to her dad’s school just seems like her best hope at figuring out who he was. But then Este meets Mateo, who is maybe—probably—definitely—a real ghost. And an annoying one at that.

When Mateo frames Este for the theft of a rare book from the library’s secret spire and then vanishes, Este will have to track him down or risk being expelled and leaving Radcliffe early just like her father did.