E ARC provided by Netgalley

Because Gwen MacKinnon's parents are divorced and involved with a long line of romantic partners, they are less than interested in taking care of her, so she's setn to spend a couple of weeks with her Uncle Matthew, whose wife has died, and his dog Pumpkin. His daughter, Nora, is grown and living away from home. Gwen is a bit anxious about many things, since her life hasn't been exactly stable, but she loves the pretty room at Matthew's house, and he goes above and beyond at cooking food she might like. There is a young neighbor girl who lives upstairs, Julia, and when Gwen goes to the MacKinnon library with Pumpkin, she feels at home there, too. Julia and the other children have a lot of stories about creatures they call the Lahdukan, whom they describe as being about 8 inches tall with feathered wings. At the beginning of the book, the reader is introduced to this tiny race, which was brought from Scotland by Charlotte MacKinnon in 1866. Ms. Lexie, the librarian, humors the children with their "game", and agrees that once children are older than six, they can't see the Lahdukan. Gwen, however, can. She has special powers, and is likely the Qalba, a type of liaison, for the Lahdukan. One of the younger members has been separated from his parents, who live at the nearby Isabelle Gardner Museum. Gwen talks to Zarakir, who is one of the leaders, and a plan is made to go visit the other clan. This becomes more imperative when construction in the library threatens the Lahdukan population, and they consult prophecies to find the best course of action for their survival. Gwen, in the meantime, has to contend with her father vacillating on when he wants her to return home, just as her role of Qalba is vitally important. Nora comes back to help out, and Gwen musters her inner resources to deal with not only her own problems, but the Lahdukans'.
Strengths: It's sweet that Birdsall wanted to pay homage to Norton's 1952 The Borrowers, which is one of my favorite books, and one of the very few I read aloud to my own personal children. Setting it in Boston gives a lot of scope for imagination, and having another clan of creatures at the real Gardner museum is inspired. Older cousins are always fun, so seeing even more of Nora would have made me happy. Ms. Lexie was a great character who played along with the "game", but wasn't too surprised when it turned out to be real. Uncle Matthew is a wonderful steady influence, and it was endearing that he let Gwen come to work with him. Pumpkin was also appealing, and not I want a pocket vest for my own dog.
Weaknesses: The reason The Borrowers is so appealing is that we get a first hand look at the Clock family. We get to live under the floor boards, go looking for small objects to borrow, and get a great perspective on what it would be like to be that small and face the challenges that Pod, Homily, and Arriety do. This is more like having the original story told from the point of view of Kate and her aunt. We don't really see enough of the parents to understand just how horrible they are.
What I really think: This will be greatly beloved by teachers and librarians who have fond memories of Norton's The Borrowers, and younger readers who enjoy classic literature. I will pass on purchase because I don't have the readers. I couldn't get any of my students to read The Penderwicks and finally weeded the two books I had. Elementary students might be more of the target audience for The Library of Unruly Treasures.

A fun new book but a beloved author. This is a great story that makes for a good read aloud. Amazing characters. Sweet fun story.