Review of Miss Moore Thought Otherwise

​Miss Moore Thought Otherwise: How Anne Carroll Moore Created Libraries for Children

​Written by Jan Pinborough
Illustrated by Debby Atwell
Age Level: 6 - 9
Grade Level: 1 – 4

​Meet Anne Carroll Moore. You probably don’t recognize her name, but if you like the children’s room at your local library, it’s because of Anne. Miss Moore came into the New York Public Library and thought otherwise. She wanted a kid-friendly place with art to see and comfy seats to curl up in. She established the first children’s room. Read her story to find out how she did it and how she changed libraries everywhere. Thanks, Miss Moore!

---

Now meet the real Anne Carroll Moore. She was born in 1871 and died in 1961. She worked as a children’s librarian for almost 50 years. She also wrote a book that was runner-up for the 1925 Newberry Award. She was incredible, and so are her Four Respects. I think they still apply to children and children’s literature. Here they are:

1. Respect for children. She wanted children to be treated as individuals and to be treated seriously.
2. Respect for children's books. Moore was adamant that books for children should be well-written, factually accurate and should not mix fact and fantasy.
3. Respect for fellow workers. She insisted that the children's library be viewed as an integral and equal part of the complete library.
4. Respect for the professional standing of children's librarians. Moore felt that the profession must recognize children's librarianship as a professional specialty.  

Source for 4 Respects
​Cummins, J. (1999, July). “Moore than Meets the Eye”. School Library Journal, pp. 26-30  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Carroll_Moore

---