That Book Woman - Heather Henson, David Small
This book has me all tongue tied. It *got* me! I love books about books. And I really love books about unlikely people discovering the magic of books. This is one of those books.

It's a fictional account of one boy's experience with the real life pack-horse librarians women who distributed books in the Appalachians (a WPA program). The story is told in a spare and authentic feeling free verse - very appealing! The best part is Cal's epiphany:

And all at once
I yearn to know
what makes that Book Woman
risk catching cold,
or worse.


And its all illustrated by the fabulous David Small and I honestly can't think of any one's work better suited to this story. Highly recommended!