New Books In Literature

On this special kids-at-home episode of the New Books Network, Dr. Lee Pierce (s/t) interviews middle grade reader author Kristin O’Donnell Tubb about The Story Collector (Henry Holt, 2018), the first book in the New York Public Library series. The Story Collector is a middle-grade historical fiction book inspired by the real life of Viviani Fedeler. Joining the interview is a real-life 10 year old reader, Airlyin Washburn, sharing her favorite parts of the story and a book talk originally slated for the presentation at TomeCon 2020. Eleven-year-old Viviani Fedeler has spent her whole life in the New York Public Library. She knows every room by heart, except the ones her father keeps locked. When Viviani becomes convinced that the library is haunted, new girl Merit Mubarak makes fun of her. So Viviani decides to play a harmless little prank, roping her older brothers and best friend Eva to help out. But what begins as a joke quickly gets out of hand, and soon Viviani and her friends have to solve two big myst