ALPACAS MAKE TERRIBLE LIBRARIANS by Kristi Mahoney

Reviewed by Amanda Smith

“If you are looking for a book, and the librarian happens to be an alpaca – BEWARE!” because Alpacas Make Terrible Librarians! (Gnome Road, 2024). In this vivid romp, Kristi Mahoney takes readers on a wild trip through the library with a cast of diverse characters and a plucky purple alpaca, all while sharing fascinating and funny facts. For instance, did you know alpacas’ padded feat are perfect for quiet libraries (and sneaking), and that alpacas like to hum all the time (not so perfect for libraries)?

The multi-award-winning illustrator team of Chantelle and Burgen Thorne envisioned the most marvelous alpaca librarian, complete with turquoise eye-shadow and a string of brass bells and tassels. Her calm smile, dashing front teeth, and expressive ears will win over young readers. The pages are saturated with color, texture and little details, like all the different library book covers, which are sure to give little listeners lots to focus on while enjoying the alpaca’s antics.

Kristi Mahoney’s debut, Alpacas Make Terrible Librarians combines animal facts, like the sound a mad alpaca would make, with humor and heart in a trifecta of terrific storytelling that will leave readers hee-hawing with delight time and time again.

On Writing:
While the most common POV for picture books is third person, Kristi opts for a second person POV which draws the readers close and include them in the action. This POV also amps up both humor and tension because it reads like a conversation. If you feel like your jokes are falling flat, try a revision in a different POV. Alpacas Make Terrible Librarians is a terrific mentor text for testing out second person.

The final page-turn of Alpacas Make Terrible Librarians introduces the premise and main character of Kristi’s next book in the series, Owls Make Terrible Teachers (Gnome Road, 2025). Even though this page was not in the original manuscript, Kristi had the idea and draft of the second book ready to go, and was able to add this page once she got the go-ahead from her editor. Do you have an alternative ending in your back pocket, should an editor request a sequel?

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To learn more about Kristi, visit her at kristimahoneybooks.com and read more about this 24 Carrot Writing regular contributor here.