The Bookworm and the Librarian, a crowdsourced novel written by Librarians

The Bookworm inside the Librarian,  a crowdsourced novel written by Librarians

The Bookworm inside the Librarian is a novel that is being written and modified all the time by librarians all over the world.  It is a crowdsourced novel, which means that there are many authors of this book and there will be many iterations of it.  If you are a librarian and would like to participate in this project (and become a co-author of one of its iterations) please read on and follow the directions that are included.  By following the instructions, you will be able to quickly and effectively write a chapter of this book and shortly thereafter enjoy the thrill of publication.  It is an achievement that will last longer than your lifetime and the joy it brings will far outweigh the few short hours you spend writing your chapter.  (I am the author and co-author of numerous books, including Sideline, the middle grade book series,

Email me if you have questions: Jaycrehak@gmail.com

CHAPTER 1 The Bookworm

                If it weren't for sixth grader Lucy Cartwell, none of this probably never would have happened.  I'm not sure whether to blame her or thank her.  It depends what day it is, I suppose.  Today, I'd like to thank her, because although I've been on an incredible journey for the past six months, today, I'm home and, with a little luck, maybe staying home for a little while.  But who knows, the bookworm inside of me tells me I'm not going to make it for long.  You see, I can't help myself.  I love to read.  It makes sense, I'm a librarian.  But, now, when I pick up a book and start to read, I'm transported.

I know, I know. Anyone who reads is metaphorically transported while they read. Again, I'm a book lover who has felt the joy of losing myself in a great read. But for everyone else, it's metaphor.  For me, it's literal.  You see, when I travel, thanks to Lucy Cartwell, I am physically transported to somewhere else.  Sounds crazy, right?  Agreed. But read on, my friend.

At first, I thought it was to  a totally random place, but over time I have come to understand that there is a rhyme and reason to where I end up each time I crack open a book to read.

So here's the backstory.  I am the librarian at Elyria Heights Elementary school  which happens to be where Lucy Cartwell is a 6th grader.  Lucy happens to love books and not a whole lot else.  She would much rather come to me than eat lunch or go home after school.  I'm not sure what her home life is all about, but I know she doesn't have a whole lot of friends at school.  She seems to like me well enough, mostly, I suppose, because I share my love of books with her.  Now that I think about it, I realize, maybe it's not Lucy's fault I have a bookworm inside of me.  Maybe it's my fault that she ever gave it to me.

So it was February in Elyria Heights, OH and winter was wearing everyone down, except maybe Lucy Cartwell who didn't seem to notice things like the weather.  Because all she did was read, she seemed oblivious to everything else that was happening in the "real world."

On that fateful February Day (It was February 12th, Abe Lincoln's birthday - but we still had school) Lucy came to me because the book she was returning, although she said she liked it, seemed to have a bookworm inside of it. Now, as a librarian, I know that a real bookworm is any insect that eats the pages of a well worn book, often an old book that has a bit of mold or other plants that are on books that are not clean and safe.  I try my best to keep my school library books clean, but the one I had suggested to Lucy to read, evidently had a bookworm in it.  Perhaps because no one had read it in a long time, and because it was tucked away on a bookshelf that students rarely perused.

The book was otherwise non-descript.  It was called Novel Changes and it was written by an obscure writer.  The reason I had chosen it for her was because she had read just about everything else on the shelf that I could recommend for her age and reading level.  She was a superior reader, but she was still in sixth grade.  So I had chosen Novel Changes, mostly because I knew she hadn't read it.  It was too obscure.

When she brought it back to me, I asked her how she liked it,  she said it was interesting, but that it had a bookworm in it.  At first, I didn't understand.  She repeated it.

"It was very interesting, Ms. Hannah, but it has a bookworm in it that seems to have a mind of its own."

I laughed and asked, "A mind of its own?  What are you talking about?"

"Well, I tried to shake it out of the pages, but it won't leave.  It clings to the page no matter how hard I shake it."

"You can see it?  You mean, it's still there?"

"Yes," she said, "Although it is very small. 

"Can you show me?"

"Yes," and she opened the book and there it was. 

 It looked like a very small slug.  I looked at it and it seemed to look at me.  I know that sounds strange, but that's what it seemed to do.  It seemed to look at me.

I started to talk to it, sort of playfully.  I said,  "Okay, little bookworm.  I know you've been living in this book for a little while, but it's time to go."  You see, I was afraid the little bookworm might eat the pages of the book, although, to be honest, I hadn't see any real damage to the pages. Maybe a very slight bit of gnawing at an edge, but nothing substantial.

The little bookworm didn't react to my talk to it.  It just stayed on the page.  So I took the book from Lucy and shook it upside down.  I thought the little bookworm would fall out, but it didn't.  It clung to the page.  When I turned the book back over, it was exactly where it had been.   So I asked it again to leave, kind of playfully.  I mean, I wasn't really talking to it.  A real bookworm's an insect, after all.

But it seemed to be listing.  It seemed to shake its head, no.  So I put my finger out and invited it to climb on top of it. Which, surprise, surprise. after a moment, it did.  Then, after a moment, I tried to shake it off, but it wouldn't leave.   I thought about flicking it off, but it seemed harmless, and I didn't want to be cruel.  It started crawling on my finger, and after a minute or so, I didn't see it again.  I looked in the book, and it wasn't there.  I thought maybe it flew away or fell to the ground, but I couldn't find it.  I asked Lucy if she wanted Novel Changes back and she said no.  She asked me for a new suggestion, which I gave her, and I thought that was the end of it.

Then, that night, right before I went to bed, I opened up a new book I was reading by a new middle grade novelist, and as I did, there was the book worm.   I recognized it by the look it gave me.  yes, I know that sounds crazy, but I'd really never seen one before or since, and so it was easy to recognize.  I said to it, "Hello, little fellow, it's nice to see you again, but you have to go." And I turned the book upside down and shook the book, trying to shake the little bookworm out.  Instead, as I shook the book, I thought I heard the bookworm say, "Oh, no, Ms. Hannah, I don't have to go, you do." And as I heard that voice I was suddenly transported to a school library in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  I was the librarian there and I was suddenly dealing with the most annoying student she had ever had.