Chris Gottlieb

Chris Gottlieb is a sharp tongued librarian who works at a reference desk and uses a wheelchair. When ten year old Meg Stevens insists on helping him at Whit's End, his chair tips and he leaves angrily. Whit later sends Meg to the library with research questions and an apple pie. Chris answers questions about fjords and other subjects, discovers that a supposedly broken compass works, and faces the one question most people avoid asking him. Meg's sincere curiosity breaks through his gruff manner, and he laughs more freely than he has in years. Chris admits that he owes her an apology and brings his new friend back to Whit's End. Intelligent and guarded, he responds warmly when someone treats him as a person rather than a problem.