Story Time...What's the Big Deal?

Next week we will begin a new series of Story time programs for kids ages 2-5. I spend approximately 40% of my time either prepping or presenting programs for kids. Why so much time? Let's look and see what the benefits are.

As a children's librarian I believe that reading is necessary for success as well as reaching one's potential. We teach young children to read because it is easier for them to develop this skill at an early age. The consequences of not being able to read are devastating. Did you know that 60% of all prisoners in the U.S. justice system are illiterate and that poor literacy skills have been linked to depression in children as young at age 10? So, what does that have to do with Story time? Programs at the library are designed to promote reading and the love of books. Great programs at the library bring people in and once they are in the building they are 75% more likely to use other services that the library offers.

Programs at the library, like Story time, promote a sense of community. Programs turn a solitary activity of reading into a group activity. It helps socialize children into the community and helps parents feel less isolated from other parents. We can show kids that reading is fun, we can form good reading habits and teach them how a library works. This sets them up to be successful library users in the future. Story time is not just about books but engages children in language and stories as well.  At the library, especially during Story time, we see the social effect of reading. Reading is a way to combat overexposure of media that often promotes violence, bad use of language and poor morals. Attending a program at the library can help a child develop a sense of structure and an awareness of rules and routine setting them up for success when they enter formal school environments.

You may ask the question, "Aren't teachers at school teaching kids how to read?" Well yes, they are teaching the mechanics of reading, but the reality is that most teachers cannot spend enough time with a child to engage them in literature.  It is the libraries' job to promote the love of reading and books.

There is still time to register your child for one of our Story time sessions. Classes available are Tuesdays at 10:00 a.m. or 11:30 a.m. and Wednesdays at 10:00 a.m. or 11:30 a.m. or you can attend one of our drop-in programs which we hold every Thursday at 10:00 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. You don't need a library card to attend any of our classes.  For more information about these and other programs at the library, call us at 435-723-5850 or visit our web page at www.bcpl.lib.ut.us

Michele Schumann
Children's Librarian

Lost Dr. Seuss Stories

Today I received a copy of The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories by Dr. Seuss. A collection of stories originally published in magazines in 1950 and 1951. This collection of lost stories was compiled by Charles D. Cohen, the world's foremost scholar and collector of all things Seussian.

An introduction at the beginning of the book is most educational about Seuss and his early career as a writer of children's stories. For example, I didn't know that one of my favorite books, A Fish Out of Water by Helen Palmer was written by Ted Giesel's first wife. She based her story on one he had published early in his career, Gustav, the Goldfish (included in the new book).

Did you know that Ted Geisel also had careers as a political cartoonist, in the US Army and as a animator and screen writer.  Before WWII, Dr. Seuss did not consider writing children's books particularly important. But after seeing German and Japanese children grow up reading war propaganda literature, which he said was the worst educational crime in the history of the world, he developed a new philosophy about educating children through reading. A chance encounter in Salt Lake City with a toddler who could recite word for word the book, Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose changed how Ted looked at the rhyme and cadence of his work. Since this small child could not read Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose he had learned the story by how it sounded as it was read to him. After his visit to Utah he had a new appreciation for the way his work sounded.

The stories included in this volume are some of the stories that Ted wrote as a way to promote reading by how the book sounded when read aloud.  The illustrations whose color has been enhanced far beyond the limitations of the magazines in which they first appeared are a beautiful addition to the text and purely Seussical. Want to know more about this great cache of Seuss stories? Go to http://www.seussville.com/ and visit the video tab where there is an interview with Cohen and how this book came to be published by Random House. While you are visiting Seussville have fun with your children playing the fun interactive games there.

Michele, Children's Librarian

Groundbreaking Beginning Readers

In the olden days, back when I was a kid, beginning readers were dull and pretty limited.  Dick & Jane and books with rhyming words like "snug bug in a rug" helped American children learn to read for decades.  I learned  to read with a system called the "Programmed Readers" which introduced me to characters named Sam and Ann and Walter. Each title had a story with missing words which asked the reader to fill in the blanks or answer questions with a crayon on a special plastic sheet that was used to cover the page. They featured stories like Ann sitting on a pin or Sam eating mints. Boring! Apparently they were so bad that nobody kept any copies. I couldn't even find images of the books on Google.

Today beginning readers have an entire section of the library set aside just for them. Some of my favorites are Theodor Seuss Geisel Award (which honors books for beginning readers)  winners "Elephant and Piggie" series by Mo Willems. The stories reflect a child's world with topics like being a friend, going to a birthday party or sharing your ice cream or getting a new toy. The series has appealing cartoon graphics and color coded speech bubbles which make reading them fun and easy. It is impossible to read these stories with out giggling or laughing. Sometimes the character is saying nothing more in the speech bubble than an exclamation point but the meaning is always easy to decipher by just looking at the characters' face.

One of my favorite patrons, Ryan age 6, has begun writing his own episodes, because he has read all the titles in the series and wanted more.  His mom isn't as big a fan and is tired of reading these titles but he is gobbling up each new addition to the series as fast as Willems can write them.  Bravo! to Ryan for taking reading to the next step and Bravo! to Mo Willems for making learning to read so appealing.

Michele, Children's Librarian