I think that libraries are so fantastically amazing. There is something special about stepping through the doors and being surrounded by thousands of books, any of which you can choose to take home for free and read. (I also love bookstores for similar reasons, but there is the added cost of actually buying a book. And once a book is bought, how many times do you actually read it? For me, it's once. So I pay at least $10 to read a book once that I could check out free from the library. I have to admit though, it is fun getting a shiny, new book that you are first to open and read.)
Most libraries feature storytimes for young kids. We live in between two libraries so I'm able to check out the goings on at both of them. One has a playground across the street and that made it fun to go to the library and then picnic at the park. It has been so incredibly hot the last few months though that that's been impossible. Some of the libraries do special reading programs and fun activities during the summer break from school. When I just had two kids, I loved going to the library for storytime. It was easy and fun, but now with three it's just exhausting. When I was pregnant with Jameson we were going to storytimes weekly because it was something fun and free to do. I have been slacking lately taking the kids.
Last week we went to the library because I wanted to check out a Ramona book. I saw that the movie Ramona and Beezus was coming out so that inspired me to rediscover this series of books that I loved as a kid. I remember devouring them all because I so loved to read. I want to instill this same love of reading in my children because I think it is very important. So far they all love to read books. I thought Calli might be old enough to listen to a Ramona book. It is a chapter book, but a short one with a few pictures here and there. When we checked out Ramona the Pest and sat down to read it, I wasn't sure it was holding her attention very well, but when I reached the end of the first chapter she told me "keep going" so I did. We finished the book in two days where I thought it would take a week to get through. I loved reading it with her because of course it's been so long that I can't remember exactly what happened in the books. This one was about Ramona going off to kindergarten, so it was perfect I figured. Now this week I am backtracking and reading Beezus and Ramona, which I should have started with. My hope is that I will get her familiar with the books and be able to take her on a Mommy/Daughter date to the movie.
Anyhow, last week at the library they were setting up for a special event called "Storytime Train". I would have loved to stay, but I didn't know about it and we had already been at the library awhile and it wasn't starting for another fifteen minutes. So when I got home I looked it up and wouldn't you know; it goes on Tuesdays and Thursdays and is ending this week. So we decided to check it out today. It started with a puppet show and then there were four stations that the kids worked their way through. One had them making puppets, another had them making hats and the last two were games to play. Then they gave out cookies and juice and we had a picnic in the library. They did raffles to win books and at the very end the Scholastic bus showed up outside where they were giving away FREE BOOKS. We were lucky and got in line quickly and were some of the first on the bus. It turned out that it was filled with activities and games and if we had been stuck waiting in line, who knows how long it would have taken. I went through quickly, as I was losing my mind a little by that point (Jameson requires constant attention; thank you my darling boy for pilfering my keys from my diaper bag and leaving them on the ground without my noticing so one of the librarians would eventually hold them up in front of everyone and ask if they belonged to anyone). Each of the kids got a free book: Jameson got a board book, Serena a Clifford book and Calli got a book called "Off to Kindergarten". It couldn't have been more perfect.
I was happy to discover this event at the library and wish I had the patience to be able to take the kids again on Thursday, but I think I've had my fill of it for the week.
Here are the kids with their new books:
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