The Legend of the Last Library (Paperback or Softback)

10 National Honors, including Sunshine State Young Readers Award List! See the full list below.

"In a delight to bibliophiles, Cole weaves lovely testimonies to the power of reading and the acquisition of knowledge into the text." -Kirkus Reviews

What if you lived in a world without books?

After a devastating Blight killed off all the trees, paper is worth more than just about anything. Juni's parents died when she was young, so now it's just her and Grandpa Edgar. When she's not in school, Juni and her friends Doler and Quaze turn to plifting—scavenging for any paper they can find. If Juni can find enough paper, she can pay for the health care Grandpa needs.

So when Juni discovers a book—the first one she's ever seen—hidden in a box in her grandpa's closet, she's both surprised and elated thinking of the money she could get for it. That all changes when she decides to read the book. Beyond opening her imagination, the book contains clues that point to what could be the last library on Earth.

The library's location has been hidden for more than a hundred years, but Juni and her friends are not the only ones looking for it. Ullred O'Donnell, head of R&D for Novexus, a megacorporation that replaced the government and now controls all information, is desperate to find the library as well. With an army of vicious robot dogs at his command, Ullred warns Juni to abandon her quest—or else.

Juni and her friends must find the library and share it with the world before Novexus claims it as their own. If reading one book could change Juni's life, what would access to thousands—or millions—of books do?

Frank L. Cole was born into a family of southern storytellers and wrote his first book at age eight. It was, of course, a masterpiece, but it was lost, and Frank has spent the rest of his life trying to remember it. Currently, along with his wife and three children, he resides in the shadow of a majestic western mountain range, which is most likely haunted. Frank has visited hundreds of schools nationwide, promoting the value of reading and using imagination to solve problems, and he can now say with confidence, "The Library has no need to hide from me." The Legend of the Last Library is Frank's fifteenth published book.