A LIBRARY

Poet Nikki Giovanni narrates her ode to the power of a library in a child's life. Monday mornings after they hang out the laundry, "Grandmother takes her sit-down" while her grandchild heads off to the library. There, the child exults in the endless possibilities the institution affords: "a place to be free/to be in space," a place to imagine dream after dream. Giovanni's warm, slightly gravelly voice knows the rhythms of the poem. She holds listeners close as they're carried through its lines and over its pauses, hearing it exactly as it's meant to be heard. Her closing note about the importance of the library in her own childhood underscores the poem's sincerity. This audiobook is as cozy as a favorite reading nook. V.S. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2022]