The Camel Bookmobile

Fiona Sweeny is a librarian - but she wants to be more. To leave her mark on the world, Fiona decides to start a mobile library to serve the nomadic people in Kenya. In the city of Mididima, Fiona and the Camel Bookmobile provide the villagers their only access to books. But not everyone is happy about the library. Many of Mididima's residents think that literacy will destroy the traditions they have followed for centuries. When one of the library books is not returned, the villagers must decide what they want their future to be.

Being a librarian wanna-be (currently in library school), I was drawn to this book immediately. But while stressing the importance of books and literacy, Masha Hamilton delves into questions about modernization, tradition, and how they affect each other. Highly recommended.