That Book Woman

Based on the 2008 Parents' Choice award-winning picture book written by Heather Henson and illustrated by David Small, the iconographic-animated That Book Woman is a beautiful story that also serves as a nice paean to the “pack horse librarians” who rode their steeds through rain, fog, and snow every two weeks to deliver books to families living in the Appalachian mountains in Kentucky. Small's evocative watercolor illustrations meld nicely with Henson's luminous prose in this tale of an illiterate lad named Cal, who was “no scholar boy” and more than a little baffled at his younger sister Lark's excitement over the arrival of the book woman (“a lady wearin' breeches for all the world to see”). At first, the siblings' pap tries to trade berries for books (which non-reader Cal, of course, considers a foolish transaction), but it turns out the books are absolutely free to borrow. Although Cal requires a bit of warming up, he eventually takes lessons from Lark, “making two readers outta one.” That Book Woman is a lovely tale, winsomely narrated by Walker Harrison with solid musical accompaniment by Jack Sundrud. Presented with optional read-along subtitles, DVD extras include interviews with Henson and Small. Highly recommended. Aud: K, E, P. (R. Pitman)