The author relates his life long search for the First Folios of Shakespeare. The first collection of Shakespeare’s plays published after his death. He shares the history of different copies of the Folio and in some cases can only share the search and known characteristics of still missing copies. 
A look at why people steal books: love of the book or author, profit or prestige of owning a collection. For unrepentant book thief John Gilkey steals to accumulate a collection to prove he is a “gentleman” because in his deluded mind it’s only fair – if he wants it the world should give it to him. The world including individuals, libraries and book sellers that he sees as keeping him from what is rightly his.
Almost as obsessive is Ken Sanders who is driven to catch him and has helped connect book dealers to alert each other about book thiefs and their methods. The author Allison Bartlett talks to both dealers including Sanders and interviews Gilkey trying to understand what makes some people stop at nothing to posses the titles they love even after jail time. 
From Cover to Cover is an excellent resource for anyone who talks about, reviews or purchases children’s books. It has clear and concise chapters on every type of children’s book: nonfiction, poetry, chapter books, picture books, etc. While the subtitle states this book is about evaluating and review, the majority of the book is on evaluating books. Reviewing doesn’t come in until the final chapter. Not that it is a bad thing. The information in the evaluating chapters is great. Horning goes into the history of the literature, the different parts, what you should look at and how to evaluate it. She even gives examples of excellent books in each genre. Great resource and very helpful.
Lucy Hull, a young children’s librarian in Hannibal, Missouri stumbles into a moral dilemma when she finds her favorite patron, ten-year-old Ian camped out in the library after hours with a knapsack of provisions and an escape plan from his homophobic parents.The precocious Ian is addicted to reading, but needs Lucy’s help to smuggle books past his overbearing mother. Lucy allows herself to be hijacked by Ian. The odd pair embarks on a crazy road trip from Missouri to Vermont, with ferrets, an inconvenient boyfriend, and upsetting family history thrown in their path. Lucy is running away from as much or more than Ian.
There is a love of books and reading throughout this book which is quite enjoyable. How books can open new world’s to the reader and even rescue a person dealing with an overwhelming situation in their life is a wonderful message. Lucy’s relationships with Ian, her family and her friends will keep you interested but for a character who claims to be open-minded she is very preachy about her personal beliefs and why everyone else is wrong. I found the repetitive restatements of why Ian’s parents are in Lucy’s words “completely wrong and prejudice” annoyingly ironic.
Each chapter tells how a writer, politician or celebrity has not only been influenced by libraries but what they have done to support literacy and libraries. Nice to find that such diverse people have some common ground and that it benefits kids, learning and libraries