Mimi and her little brother Joe think it’s too hot to do much of anything. They’ve spied on the “blah-blah ladies” (their mother and her visiting friends) and have eaten snow cones, but after that they’re not just hot – they’re hot and bored. They decide to head for the public library, where they’ll not only enjoy the air-conditioning but also find books to entertain themselves. Mimi heads for the princess books and Joe for the dinosaurs, and together they escape into cool fantasy worlds. R. Gregory Christie uses hot pinks and bright yellows to illustrate the hot city streets, and soothing blues and greens for the cool library interiors of Barbara Joosse’s story. (Ages 4–8)

It's one of those days in the city when the sidewalk is hot as a frying pan, and Mimi and her little brother Joe are sweatin' out rivers. Spyin' on Mama and the blah blah ladies is no fun. Out on the street the buses are huffin' out dragon-hot smoke. Even a princess-pink snow cone melts away too fast to lick.

Then Mimi and Joe find their way to a place where it's always cool, a place where you can be a princess on a throne or a dinosaur in a forest, a place where you can let your imagination run free . . . the library.

Gregory Christie's red-hot illustrations team up with Barbara Joosse's smooth urban voice in this book that points the way to the coolest place in any city.