Book excerpt: A funny, playful salute to the value of books and libraries from the New York Times best-selling and beloved author Carmen Agra Deedy. Sunrise Elementary School had a BIG problem. Their new librarian was a real Dragon! When Miss Lotta Scales read an ad for a thick-skinned librarian with a burning love of books, she knew she was perfect for the job. After all, who could guard books better than a real dragon? She took her job seriously: hundreds of new, clean books replaced the old, smudged ones. The thought of sticky little fingers touching and clutching her precious books made her hot under the collar! The principal tried to reason with her, and she singed his tie. The teachers sent a delegation, including sweet Miss Lemon, who told her “the library belongs to the children,” but they were all sent away scorched. When nearsighted Molly Brickmeyer stumbled into the library looking for her glasses, she bumped into a shelf, and a book tumbled into her hands. As she began to read aloud, and the children came to listen, they came face to face with Miss Lotta Scales. Could a book read out loud temper the flames of the school’s hot-headed librarian? Often used to introduce the library during the first week of school, this classic picture book is reissued with an author’s note and a QR code to access an audio recording read by the author.