Patience and Fortitude are lion statues that have perched on plinths outside the New York Public Library for more than 100 years. Each day the two noble friends greet thousands of library visitors. But Patience, unbeknownst to Fortitude, has a secret nighttime life. One morning, as dawn approaches, Fortitude wakes to discover his friend is not at his post! Where is Patience, who tells Fortitude surprising "stories of ducklings and moons,/ Of wardrobes and buttons and fun"? Worried that Patience won't return in time for the building's opening, Fortitude ("lacking all patience") scampers into the building to find him.
What follows is a library tour to end all library tours, led by a curious (big) cat. On his quest, Fortitude encounters Astor Hall, the Rose Main Reading Room and a mischievous lion-head water fountain, each of which is explained at greater length in the endpapers. When the valiant lion eventually winds up in the Children's Center, he discovers not only Patience, but the answer to the mystery of where his friend's storytelling prowess comes from.
Josh Funk (How to Code a Sandcastle; the Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast series) tells this first-ever picture book tale of the New York Public Library lions--in verse! Stevie Lewis's (Prince & Knight; the Tuesday McGillycuddy Adventures series) simple but carefully accurate architectural details mesh wonderfully with her playful style: an almost Escher-like spread features multiple Fortitudes treading up and down staircases at various geometric angles. Not just for New Yorkers--any reader who loves libraries and gentle mysteries will enjoy getting Lost in the Library with Fortitude and Patience. --Emilie Coulter, freelance writer and editor