Al builds a little free library from an old cheese cupboard outside the History House overnight.

Evan discovers a little free library on his walk to school and takes two books from it.

Evan's father sees the library books, knocks over a chair, and rushes out of the room refusing to speak.

Evan finds his father's name written on the borrower's card inside one of the library books.

Evan and Rafe count the little free library's books and find nearly all belong to the destroyed Martinville Library.

Evan discovers a Polaroid photograph hidden inside one of the library books.

Evan writes a letter to mystery author H.G. Higgins, asking whether the author has ever visited Martinville.

Evan and Rafe search the ruins of the former library and find a keyring with two keys.

Evan researches H.G. Higgins and learns the name is a pseudonym but cannot find the author's real identity.

Al gives Evan old newspaper articles about the library fire from the History House archives.

Evan reads that a young library intern was officially suspected of starting the fire.

Evan confronts his father, who admits he was in the library basement the day of the fire.

Evan's father reveals he is H.G. Higgins and produces the letter Evan sent the author as proof.

Mortimer directs the mice in a reenactment showing that a mouse accidentally started the fire with a matchstick.

Evan convinces his father to request the fire investigation be reopened, and the fire is officially ruled accidental.

The Lost Library follows fifth grader Evan as he discovers a little free library filled with books from a building that burned down over twenty years ago. When he finds his father's name on a borrower's card and his father reacts with panic, Evan sets out to uncover the truth. With his friend Rafe, Evan collects clues including a mysterious Polaroid photo, a pseudonymous author's signature, and a set of keys found at the ruins of the former library. His investigation leads him to the History House, where he learns his father was the prime suspect in the fire. After a dramatic reenactment by Mortimer and the mice exposes the true accidental cause of the blaze, Evan's father is cleared of all suspicion and uses his hidden earnings to build the town a new library.

Evan solves the mystery of the library fire.

Mortimer and his sister Petunia live together as kittens inside the Martinville Library before the fire.

Mortimer refuses to go indoors and spends the night outside guarding the little free library.

Al recalls running the library's Wednesday Book Club and repeatedly trying to coax a shy young patron to join.

The fifth-grade class visits Grantville Middle School and learns that middle school has no recess.

Mr. O'Neal privately hands Evan's father something after spotting Evan reading the library book at school.

Two third graders arrive at the little free library pulling a wagon full of books to donate.

Al recalls Edward catching a stray mouse in the library and persuading her to keep it at her house.

A woman named Anne Baker visits the little free library and reads a Langston Hughes poem aloud.

Evan and his parents celebrate his fifth-grade graduation ceremony together.

An older boy named Demetri promises Evan he will sit with him on the first day of middle school.

A mouse named Fred tells Mortimer about a six-toed cat living in a movie theater in Grantville.

Ms. Scoggin and Mr. Brock rise into the air and vanish from the History House forever.

Evan discovers that the second key from the library ruins fits the front door of his own home.

Evan's father uses a hidden key to enter the History House after Mortimer signals for help.

Rafe boards the middle school bus on the first day carrying tomatoes he grew using a little free library book.

This pool traces the supporting stories woven through the main mystery, from Mortimer's vigilant guard of the little free library to the growing community of readers gathering around it. Al reflects on her years as a librarian and her deepening bond with a shy young patron who would grow up to be Evan's father. The little free library draws townspeople together — children donating wagon-loads of books, neighbors sharing poetry aloud — slowly filling the gap left by the lost library. Meanwhile, Evan's anxieties about middle school linger in the background of his investigation, and a chance encounter with an older student named Demetri offers unexpected reassurance. The pool ends with a hopeful epilogue in which Rafe, inspired by a book he borrowed from the little free library, arrives on the first day of middle school proudly carrying homegrown tomatoes.

The community and characters brought together by books.

The Martinville Library fire breaks out, killing Ms. Scoggin and Mr. Brock and destroying the building.

Mortimer takes up a position guarding the single cart of library books that survived the fire.

Evan and Rafe find that every book in the little free library shares the same due date.

Rafe reveals to Evan that people died in the Martinville Library fire — information Evan never knew.

Evan notices that the famous mystery writer H.G. Higgins's name appears on one book's checkout slip.

The school librarian tells Evan she worked alongside his father at the Martinville Library when they were in high school.

Evan tries one of his found keys on an abandoned treehouse padlock in the woods, and it opens.

Looking out the treehouse window, Evan realizes the view exactly matches the background of the Polaroid photograph.

Evan's father studies the Polaroid and identifies the young man pictured as Mr. O'Neal, not H.G. Higgins.

Mortimer promises the mice food and explains his plan to reveal the true cause of the library fire.

Ms. Scoggin urges Al to let her go, insisting that Al has found her purpose in the world again.

Al reveals she is not a ghost — Edward pulled her from the burning library and she survived the fire.

Al and Edward see each other face-to-face for the first time since the night of the fire.

Al and Edward each thank the other, both insisting the other deserves full credit for saving them.

Evan's father donates his H.G. Higgins royalties to fund the construction of a new Martinville library.

This pool focuses on the pivotal turning points and hidden truths that drive the story toward its resolution. Beginning with the night of the library fire itself, it traces the secrets slowly brought to light — from the shared due date linking all the books to the day of the blaze, to the startling discovery that H.G. Higgins is a real person connected to Martinville. A Polaroid photograph and a set of old keys guide Evan to confrontations that upend everything he thought he knew about his father and the town's history. The most emotional moments unfold as Al releases the ghosts she has devoted herself to, confesses she is actually alive, and reunites with the man who saved her from the fire. Together, these revelations clear an innocent man's name, heal long-standing wounds, and open the door to Martinville's renewal.