
"Lyrical text with prayer-like refrains joins impressionistic collage and multimedia images"
--Publishers Weekly, starred review

The Keeper of Stories
In this poignant and uplifting true story of community, a neighborhood comes together in the wake of a library fire to save the stories within, offering a timely reminder of the essential role libraries and books play in our communities.
2025 • ages 4-8
ISBN13: 9781665914970


By Caroline Kusin Pritchard
Illustrated by Selina Alko
In this poignant and uplifting true story of community, a neighborhood comes together in the wake of a library fire to save the stories within, offering a timely reminder of the essential role libraries and books play in our communities. A library is a keeper of stories. A keeper of memories. A keeper of hope. But what happens when that keeper is threatened? When a fire broke out at New York’s Jewish Theological Seminary library in 1966, firefighters raced to the rescue. But by the end of the day, thousands of books had been turned to ashes and the ones that remained were on the brink of ruin. The community was devastated. Would the priceless stories in those waterlogged pages be lost forever? Or could helping hands from every background and corner of the neighborhood come together to become keepers of stories, too? This powerfully told and lushly illustrated true story is a welcome example of how we all can come together to keep libraries and the books within safe for generations to come.
Reviews
"A stirring testament to the power of books to unite us all for good"
-- Kirkus, starred review
"Lyrical text with prayer-like refrains joins impressionistic collage and multimedia images"
--Publishers Weekly, starred review
"Poignant and uplifting true story of community"
--Booklist, starred review

Awards
2026
Orbis Pictus Honor Book

2025
Junior Library Guild Gold Selection



