Read the first chapter: The Secret of the Librarians
Chapter 1
Coming Home: Cooper
My name’s Cooper, Cooper Allan. I’m eleven years old, like green and hate princesses. A little while ago, my life just got a whole lot weirder. I was driving back home from my cousin Jake’s house. Jake and I had just had a sleepover. He lives in Driftwood, another small town along with mine, Coalberton. I’m driving back home with my mom. In a car. Normal? Sure, just hold on... Until tomorrow.
I woke up to the smell of bacon and eggs, just one of my dad’s multiple specialties.
My dad, Fredrick, is basically the world’s best cook. If you can name it, he can cook it. My mom was getting ready to go to work. She works at the local library.
My mom on the other hand, Serafina, is the best at, well I’m not sure, but she’s a mom so, everything I’d guess. Even I’ll admit, it’s kind of hard to imagine a librarian’s family. You’d think they’d have stacks and piles of books lining the walls and everything is quiet and such, but we’re actually pretty normal. Well, so I thought.
The library in our town is practically ancient. It’s been around since the beginning of Coalburton. It has big glass pane windows and big wooden doors. It’s also huge.
Anyway, Sarah and I were going to the library after school had ended. Then Kevin was coming over to work on our book report, but Sarah was going to Natalie’s house today so it would be just me and Kevin.
I’ve known Kevin and Sarah since my first day of kindergarten. On the first day at recess we all raced to play with the same tricycle. We’d gotten into such a big fight our parents had to come and get involved. They’d talked and gotten to know each other and we’re still here today.
Leaving my school, I said bye to Isaac who was, as everyone knew the smartest of the class but the absolute worst athlete. I waved to Coach Harrison, (While Isaac hid behind a tree) and Sarah and I were out. Coalburton Middle School is often chaotic. Being the only local school of a small town, everybody knows everybody.
And now things start to get interesting. We didn’t even have to step inside the library building before everything went crazy.
We walked up the front steps and before we could open the door, the door flew ten feet in the air and out came, believe it or not, a walking mouse in a tie screaming for his life from bats, the Egyptian cat goddess followed by two magicians in top hats.
Sarah and I stared in surprise. Then Kevin came around the corner.
“Hey guys, what-cha…” he stopped. “Oh… my…”
Inside the library, things were a lot worse. Book characters were everywhere and my mom and a few other librarians were in the middle of them all.
“Mom?” I asked halfheartedly.
“No time to explain, just take this library card and help me out,” she said hastily.
She handed me a silver edged library card. I didn’t see how this was going to help. I ducked as a man wearing nothing but a cloth around his waist swooped down above me.
“Throw it!” my mom said.
“What?” I said.
Mom demonstrated by throwing the card at a lunging red-eyed buck. The buck was reduced to green dust. Kevin, Sarah, and a few other people were hiding behind the reference desk. The Mad Hatter was running around pouring tea everywhere. I threw the library card at him and he gave me a crazy smile right before the card hit him and sent him straight back into his book. I felt the library card reappear in my pocket.
“Whoa.” I whispered to myself.
The library was overflowing with book characters and people were running out of the library. My mom and I followed. Outside was a lot worse.
