Module 12: Miss Moore Thought Otherwise

APA Reference of Book: Pinborough, J. (2013). Miss Moore thought otherwise: how Anne Carroll Moore created libraries for children. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children.

Summary: Anne Carroll Moore grows up in the 1870’s when children are not allowed to go inside libraries. Her father encourages her love of reading by reading aloud poems and stories to her after dinner. She has to put her plans of being a lawyer on hold to take care of her two young nieces after her parents and her brother’s wife die from the flu. Years later, she decides to enroll in library school after hearing that libraries are now hiring women to work as librarians. Miss Moore creates a pledge for children to promise to take care of their library books. This gives New York children the opportunity to borrow books and bring them home, which other librarians discourage out of fear that the children would damage the books or fail to return them. She makes other improvements to benefit children, such as removing the “silence” sign in libraries, hosting story times at the library, writing book reviews and book lists, and encouraging publishers to release better books for children. In 1911, she opens the New York Public Library with a special Children’s Room for the entire community to enjoy. She is an instrumental figure in improving libraries for the benefit of children.

Impressions: This is a beautiful book that made me cry, because it encouraged me to pursue a career as a children’s librarian, reminding me that I have a soft spot in my heart for children’s literacy. This book made me aware of the history of library youth services, including that children were not allowed in libraries in the 1870’s and that they were not trusted to take care of books and to bring them back to the library on time. I am grateful for the hard work and dedication that Anne Carroll Moore put into making libraries accessible for children to enjoy. Children who are book lovers or who are interested in history will especially like this story. There is plenty of information in the story, but the amount of text is not overwhelming. The illustrations are friendly and colorful with cool, soft watercolors. Some of the illustrations are full spread and detailed, including shadows, the folds of someone’s dress, sunlight shining from a window, etc. The “More about Miss Moore” section in the end has a biography of her that shows two photographs of Anne Carroll Moore as a child and as an adult, which help bring her to life for readers.

Professional Review: “From early childhood, Moore had "ideas of her own" and "preferred taking wild toboggan rides" to staying indoors and doing the quiet things expected of girls in the 1870s. Pinborough's introduction to the pioneering librarian's Maine upbringing quickly identifies her independent thinking and strong opinions for which she was known. This picture-book account then focuses on her role in designing the famous children's room during construction of New York City's historic central library, her activities in developing services there, and her influence on the promotion of children's books and the wider field of children's library services. Readers learn that some libraries had become more welcoming to children in the late 19th and early 20th centuries though many were still inhospitable to them. The enthusiastic narrative makes it seem that Moore was a singular force in developing special rooms for children. "In big cities and small towns across America, more and more libraries began to copy Miss Moore's Central Children's Room. So did libraries in England, France, Belgium, Sweden, Russia, India and Japan." A concluding author's note does explain that other librarians were actually forerunners of Moore. Atwell's sunny, naive paintings and vignettes vary nicely in layout with many filling the page and a few set in frames or sweeping in circular lines. The flat figures in cheerful countryside, city, and library settings convey a long-ago time. The text is wooden at times but competent in telling its story. As a lesson in library history it will be most interesting to adults, who may also find enjoyable items in the bibliography of adult sources. It might also find readers among children who enjoy reading about earlier times.”

Bush, M. (2013). Miss Moore thought otherwise: how Anne Carroll Moore created libraries for children [Review of the book Miss Moore thought otherwise: how Anne Carroll Moore created libraries for children, by J. Pinborough]. School Library Journal, 59(3), 143. Retrieved from http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2200/ehost/detail/detail?vid=5&sid=994a629b-177d-4aaf-9243-6016c6bcea87%40sessionmgr104&hid=115&bdata=JnNjb3BlPXNpdGU%3d#AN=85881863&db=brd

Library Uses: Tell children to envision what their dream reading room would be like, whether it’s in a library, their bedroom, a tree house, etc. Encourage them to share their ideas. Ask each of the children what is their favorite part about the library, and then inform them that these aspects of the library most likely did not exist before Anne Carroll Moore made changes to the library for the benefit of children. Let the children write down their answers about the best things they like about the library, and/or draw a picture about their dream reading room, and then post them as a collage on the wall for a library display.