Lyric McKerrigan, Secret Librarian: Jacob Sager Weinstein and Vera Brosgol
August 21, 2018
Book: Lyric McKerrigan, Secret Librarian
Author: Jacob Sager Weinstein
Illustrator: Vera Brosgol
Pages: 48
Age Range: 4-8
Lyric McKerrigan, Secret Librarian, written by Jacob Sager Weinstein and illustrated by Vera Brosgol, is fabulous. The subtitle tells you all you need to know: "Saving the world with the right book at the right time!". It's basically a graphic novel in picture book format, which perhaps explains the excellent choice of Anya's Ghost and Be Prepared author Brosgol as the illustrator. Perhaps this also explains why my "I only read graphic novels and picture books" daughter adored it.
An evil genius, Doctor Golckenspiel, escapes from the Depository for the Criminally Naughty. He demands a huge ransom from the world, otherwise his "army of giant moths will eat the world's books!!!". The world's best secret agents are sent in, but fail. It's up to someone "who loves books so much that she would risk her life to save them."
Lyric McKerrigan, Secret Librarian, using a giant book as a kite/parachute, sneaks in to the evil doctor's lair, bearing a set of books and a backpack full of disguises. She uses these to execute a carefully thought out plan involving distraction, misdirection, and information. For instance, disguised as a jail guard she provides the trapped secret agents with a book about how to pick locks, enabling them to escape.
The story is told in panels, half page to full spread size, with boxed text from a narrator, and lots of speech bubbles. Like this:
"(Narrator:) But who was that janitor?
Who knew just the right book
to mop away boredom."
and this:
"And now that his plans, like his
clothes, were in tatters ..."
It's a fun read-aloud, with lots of places to add dramatic emphasis. There's also humor, as when the bored security guard is distracted by a sewing book, and ends up doing embroidery. Brosgol's comic-like illustrations include some ethnic diversity, as well as plenty of multi-size shapes and unusual angles to add movement and drama. The evil doctor looks basically like a clown. Lyric's various costumes are hilarious.
One detail that my daughter noticed that I thought was a nice touch was the use of different colors around the dialog bubbles for the different characters (magenta for Lyric, etc.). This wasn't really necessary to follow the story, but it added something nevertheless.
Overall, the mix of humor, drama, and celebration of books should make Lyric McKerrigan, Secret Librarian a hit with teachers, librarians, and kids alike. It is certainly destined to be a favorite and a re-read in our house. Highly recommended, and a great addition to school and public library collections.
Publisher: Clarion Books (@HMHKids)
Publication Date: September 4, 2018
Source of Book: Review copy from the publisher
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