As long-term readers of this blog know, each year I volunteer at the county’s annual library sale. There, I unpack books and arrange them on tables. Until this year, the perk was first pick from over 450,000 books, but the country library gods got rid of that privilege this year, so we have to shop on Thursday with the rest of the public. (Bah, humbug.)
But anyway, this morning all of us were put to work getting the children’s tables ready. This makes perfect sense, as teachers get to choose books for their classrooms on Wednesday and most of their haul comes from the juvenile section. Unfortunately, the juvenile and board board tables are the gulag of the library volunteer world. The books vary widely in size and are often oddly shaped, making them difficult to lay out on tables, and they’re slippery. (Furthermore, for reasons I would prefer not to explore, they have a tendency to stick together.) Besides that, there are oodles of them. Moreover, seeing book after book featuring cover illustrations of Disney princesses and titles like Ducky Goes Potty brings out the curmudgeon in me. And finally (yes, I swear, this is really “finally), there is almost no chance of finding a complete set of the Paston Letters inadverently stuck in with the juvenile books.
However, my time in Juvenile was not fruitless, because while I was setting out Dora the Explorer books, I found myself wondering, What if someone wrote children’s books about Henry VIII? Such as these:
Henry meets Anne Boleyn: Henry’s New Friend
Jane Boleyn accuses Anne and her brother George of incest: Jane Tells a Fib
Anne gets executed: Anne’s Really Bad Day
Jane Seymour marries Henry: Jane the New Girl
Henry’s leg really starts to bother him: Henry’s Boo-Boo
Henry dies: Big Changes for Edward
Incidentally, if you live in the Raleigh, North Carolina area, I did notice some good pickings: biographies of Edward IV, Richard III, Henry VI, and Henry VIII, among others; two copies of Julia Fox’s book on Jane Boleyn, and plenty of biographies of Elizabeth I–and most of the history wasn’t unpacked when I left today. I also moved Margaret George’s novel about Mary, Queen of Scots from the biography section to the fiction section, and I fully expect to have to move her Henry VIII novel as well, as one invariably crops up in the biography section.)
I had no idea you were so close (I am in Charlotte)! I can’t tell you how much I wish I’d taken a sick day today to come book-browsing up there! I love a good library book sale!
Melissa, it’s not too late! It runs through Sunday.
What a shame they got rid of that lovely perk!
It’s been done–children’s books about Henry VIII. Have you never heard of Terry Deary? I suggest that you check him out on Amazon.co.uk.
Thanks, Judith! These books, of course, were strictly tongue-in-cheek.
Susan, your suggested titles were HILARIOUS!!! I had to wipe my eyes I was laughing so hard just now!
Where is this sale? I’m coming thru Raleigh on Friday … (books to my house/coals to Newcastle … you know how that goes). I used to live in Raleigh, so I’m still pretty familiar w/the general area.
Lucky you getting to volunteer for this!
Laura
Thanks, Laura! The last couple of years, it was at the fairgrounds. It’s going to be in May this year. Getting my volunteer loins girded!