could use it,â Jimmy Blatzo said. âThey made me read them a story.â
Justine pointed at the sign on the window beside the door. It said, Until further notice, students must be with a teacher when they visit the library.
Jimmy Blatzo looked at Justine. âI see a problem here.â
âYouâre afraid Iâll try to do something about this?â Justine said.
âNo,â he said. âThere really is a problem. The library is closed. We need to do something about this.â
âYouâre right,â Justine said. âSome things are more important than dog poop.â
Chapter Three
Mrs. Reynolds lived in a brown house near the school. Her front yard had a lot of flowers. After school, Justine and Jimmy Blatzo knocked on her door. Mrs. Reynolds invited them inside. She made tea and served carrot cake with white icing. The three of them sat in her front room. There were books on the tables, on the chairs, on the floor and on the bookshelves.
âDo you like the new ebook readers?â Mrs. Reynolds asked Justine and Jimmy Blatzo.
âI love my ebook reader,â Justine said. âBut I love treebooks too.â
âTreebooks?â Mrs. Reynolds asked.
âPaper books. Made from trees.â
âOh,â Mrs. Reynolds said with a smile. â Tree books.â
âI love that ebooks use less paper, which means cutting fewer trees.â
Every student in Justineâs school had been given an ebook reader to keep until the end of the school year. It was going to save the school a lot of money because ebooks are cheaper than classroom textbooks.
âShe is the Queen of Green,â Blatzo said, sipping his tea. âYou probably donât like ebooks, do you, Mrs. Reynolds?â
âI LOVE them,â Mrs. Reynolds said. âBefore ebooks, when I read a chapter from Charlotteâs Web to a class, the students would all want to borrow it. But I only had one or two copies to lend. Now, when kids get excited about a story, all of them can have it as an ebook.â
âExcept youâre not in the library anymore,â Justine said. âThatâs why we are here. To find out why you arenât in the library.â
âTo save money,â Mrs. Reynolds said. âIf the school cuts down on my time in the library, they donât have to pay me as much.â
âIâm going to talk to our principal, Ms. Booth,â Jimmy Blatzo said. âThatâs just wrong!â
âMs. Booth is as sad as I am,â Mrs. Reynolds said. âIt wasnât her decision. It was the superintendent of all the schools, Mr. Ripley. The school board decided if the students all have ebook readers, librarians arenât needed fulltime.â
âThat is crazy,â Justine said. âWho is going to tell us about great stories? Who is going to help us with our research?â
âI wish there was something I could do,â Mrs. Reynolds said. âBut Mr. Ripley doesnât need to listen to me or the principal.â
âWho could make him change his mind?â Justine asked.
âParents,â Mrs. Reynolds said. âBut I think most of them believe schools donât need librarians full-time either.â
âOh no!â Jimmy Blatzo said. âWe have another problem here.â
âWhat?â Mrs. Reynolds asked.
Blatzo pointed at Justine. âSheâs got that look in her eyes. I only see it when she is mad and planning to do something about it.â
Chapter Four
Mr. Ripley looked up from a huge desk in the middle of a huge office with a huge window that overlooked Central Park. He wore a blue suit, a blue shirt and a blue tie. He was partly bald and had a mustache. The mustache wasnât dark blue. It was black with gray tips.
Justine set down her backpack and sat across from him.
âIâm Justine McKeen,â Justine said. âPleased to meet you.â
âYouâre a