Mortimer and the Bookmobile

About the Book

On June 30, 2003, a tradition of rural America died in Tennessee. Librarians parked their bookmobiles for the last time, no longer to reach out to the remote homebound reader. The bookmobile, a rolling literacy machine that brought the world, in the form of books, to homes in library-less crossroads communities, out-of-the way country stores, and post offices across the state, was no more.

State budgets forced the regional libraries to axe the book wagon concept (which arrived in Tennessee in the 1940’s) and replacing the aging fleet was not an option.

Mortimer and the Bookmobile was written as a tribute to the memory of our bookmobiles. It is a picture book mystery that evolves aboard a bookmobile as it rambles along a rural backroad. The main character is a literate, plucky, and creative mouse. He has the compassionate wisdom of Andy of Mayberry and the craftiness of McGuyver. Mortimer is the unseen benevolent helpmate of a hapless librarian pressed to satisfy a want for a lost book.

How this witty mouse uses his intelligence to save the day makes for an unforgettable story and captures the love of fairy tales in a fresh and funny way.

About the Author

Patty Majors is a Children’s Librarian in the Public Library system in West Tennessee. She and fellow state librarians were deeply saddened when the bookmobile, a tradition of rural America, took its farewell journey in Tennessee on June 30, 2003. Her first picture book is a tribute to the memory of the bookmobile. Patty lives in Savannah, Tennessee with her husband, Donnie, son, Casey and their 2 dogs, Little B and Roscoe.