June 13, 2008

• Book Covers

  Those of us who work in library land have been weaned on the phrase “Don’t judge a book by its cover.”  Come to think of it, many of us have been weaned on that phrase and it has guided our perceptions of books and people and all manner of things, animate and not.  Still, we do judge books by their covers.  Those of us who talk book all day long know that the most difficult ones to sell are the ones with covers that appear to be too young or too dull or too fantastic for the reader at hand.  Still we natter on about action and romance and animals and … “Just read the first 20 pages.  I promise you’ll like it and if you don’t put it down and there is no harm done.”  However, if we judge people by their covers we miss important details and the potential for harm is very real.

   

  This was brought home to me today when a pair of little girls whom I’ve know since both were in diapers came in to collect their loot for summer reading.  They are beautiful children – sparkly clean, shiny faces, glowing, smiling eyes.  As happens on occasion, one of their cards had fines that were too high to allow for book borrowing.  I am a veritable tyrant when it comes to overdue dvds and cds but an embarrassingly soft touch when it comes to books and the dilemma that a child who wants to read, can’t because her library card is beyond salvageable.  It happened that the offending item was a book.  “Do you know where the book is, S.?”  “Yes.  It’s at my Dad’s house.”  That should have been a clue.  I missed it.  “My dad’s house” not “At home under the bed.”  “Okay, how about this?  How about when you get home you look around and see if you can find it and bring it back.”  Her brown eyes flashed anger, “I don’t go to that house anymore.  I’m never going to that house.”  The older of the two said, “Yes we can.  Dad can pick us up and drive us over and we can get the book.  We have to go back there anyway to pack.”  The brown eyes flashed once more, “I’m NOT going back there.  And I am NOT packing.  DAD can pack.”  That’s a great deal of anger masked by pretty clothes and good grooming.  The older of the two rolled her eyes.  I waived the fine on the book and was updating their records – two different addresses.  The older of the two said, “We are moving to Grandma’s so you might as well change the addresses to her house.”  She peered over my shoulder as exclaimed, “Oh my gosh, that was two houses ago.”  And then she giggled at her own record and said, “We haven’t lived there in about three years.”  There are six children, I think.  Always clean, polite, respectful.  And coming undone.  I said to the eldest, “Thank goodness for grandma’s, huh?”  She smiled shyly and said, “Yes.” 

   

  The point here is that it isn’t only the children with the tattered clothes and dirty faces that suffer.  You can’t know by looking.  You can’t assume based on appearance.  You have to pay attention.  You have to read a few pages before you jump to conclusions.  The library cards were repaired, books selected, loot gathered and they skipped out the door, shining and bright and hurting.  There’s a support system there.  Thank God for Grandmas and any other adult who takes a moment to remember that all children need to be loved.

   

  End of lecture.

  • 9:10 pm
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