I love how Luebbe and Cattie have taken the most unlikely of characters to ever want to read and turned that on its head. With stories filling their minds, everyone’s lives grow richer because we all know what treasures can be found inside the pages of a book. “It turns out, barbarians do read books.” Ronan lives happily ever after only now he can add librarian to his skill set. However, when he later discovers the library has been invaded, not by pillagers, but by curious villagers, Ronan could not be happier. Yet everyone appears to carry on with their work, leaving the barbarian bibliophile convinced his story has not made an impact. “Barbarians do not read books.”ĭetermined to whet their literary appetites, Ronan decides to read a mythical tale aloud to his community. Much to Ronan’s disappointment, his partners in pillage show no interest in reading. It becomes so huge he needs a library to contain it. As the leader, Ronan shifts the pillaging priority from taking baubles to books and his collection grows and grows. Wherever Ronan travels to invade, raid and then trade, his mind is always focused on the current book he was devouring, eager to return home to it at day’s end. Interior spread from Ronan the Librarian written by Tara Luebbe and Becky Cattie with illustrations by Victoria Maderna, Roaring Brook Press ©2020. From that moment on, Ronan was a changed marauder. He reads late into the night, oversleeping in fact. While at first Ronan considers the haul useless -“Kindling? Origami? Toilet paper?” -it doesn’t take long for him to get pulled in by a picture and hooked on the book. His usual raids involve bringing back jewels and gold, that is until his latest plundering reveals a chest full of books.

When we first meet Ronan, the barbarian leader, he’s a typical marauder, pillaging with his cohorts and pretty much content. What do you get when you mix books with a barbarian? You get the delightfully disarming Ronan the Librarian by Tara Luebbe and Becky Cattie with art by Victoria Maderna.

RONAN THE LIBRARIAN Written by Tara Luebbe & Becky Cattie Illustrated by Victoria Maderna (Roaring Brook Press $17.99, Ages 4-8)