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Polly Horvath has written many books for children and young adults. She has won a number of awards including a National Book Award, Newbery Honor, Toronto Dominion Award, International White Raven, Canadian Library Association’s Young Adult Book of the Year and Horn Book Honor. She has been short-listed for Germany’s most prestigious children’s literature prize, the Deutscher Jungenliteraturpreis and she has won Italy’s Premio Orbil Award and the Premio Arpino and come in second for Italy’s Premio Cento as well as winning the Writer’s Trust Vicky Metcalfe Award for her body of work and many others in both Canada and the U.S..

Her books have been New York Times and Publishers Weekly bestsellers and Rosie O'Donell and Oprah picks. She is translated into over twenty-five languages and her books are taught in children's literature curricula in North America and internationally.

Polly Horvath grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She now lives in Metchosin, British Columbia and is both an American and a Canadian citizen.  She is married and has two daughters.

Her books have received international recognition. Publishers Weekly has called her work "unruly, unpredictable and utterly compelling."

Library Girl Polly's new book—Library Girl— tells the story of Essie. After secretly living in the public library for the last eleven years, Essie must learn to adapt to a world that's not as perfect as the stories she's grown up with in this heartfelt middle-grade novel from Newbery Honor author Polly Horvath.

Essie has grown up in the public library, raised in secret by the four librarians who found her abandoned as a baby in the children's department. With four mothers and miles of books to read, Essie has always been very happy living there.

But now that she is eleven, Essie longs for a little more freedom . . . and maybe a friend her own age. She seems to get her wish when her moms let her go by herself to the mall and then on her second trip there, she meets G.E., a mysterious boy who looks so much like her she can't help but think they may be twins. Maybe he was raised by four dads in the department store. Maybe his story is intertwined with hers, and their happy ending is as one big family.

But as she gets to know him better, she learns that nothing is as simple as it seems in her stories — not even her own past .. .

Reviews

  • "This whimsical story is rich with quirky, lovable characters, the warmth of found family and an unexpected twist." — The Washington Post

  • “An original, outlandish romp of a tale. As always Horvath’s storytelling abilities are top-notch." — Horn Book

  • “The plot has enough twists to keep readers guessing until the end. A love letter to books and the dreamers who read them." Charming. — School Library Journal

  • "A lovely daydream for readers."--Kirkus Reviews

  • "Fast paced, richly imaginative, and written with abundant humor. An engaging choice for reading aloud."— Booklist