ALPACAS MAKE TERRIBLE LIBRARIANS

A cloven-hoofed librarian can’t be too bad…right?

A pinkish-purple-haired, blue-lidded alpaca has suddenly and inexplicably taken over the library. Alpacas may be soft and cuddly, but as the narrator (and title) warns, “Alpacas make TERRIBLE librarians!” They make distracting sounds, and their angry noises (“AHHH HEEE HAWWW HEEE”) are even louder than their calm ones (“Cluck cluck cluck cluck hum hum hum hum”). Alpacas love to host storytime outside (“If there’s one thing this librarian loves, it’s grass”), but if you need to use the bathroom once you’re out there, the alpaca will direct you to the “communal dung pile.” Most importantly, don’t try to check out a book about a llama—the alpaca will get very upset, and a slobbery reprimand might come flying your way. Packed with alpaca facts, the cheeky narrative might also start a discussion on censorship with young readers (the alpaca tosses out all books about other animals). Bright illustrations and energetic text placement, with tilted angles and bold-faced words, add to the chaos the alpaca brings. The younger, human library enthusiasts are a diverse bunch.

Raucous storytime fun.