Support of Local Literature: storytime still very much alive

"Livi thinks baths are so boring! Everything is more fun than baths! Will she ever end up in   the tub?"

There's a wee bit more of academic summer left, so there's still time to get kids' heads in a book. This morning Barnes and Noble hosted a weekly storytime, reading On My Way to the Bath by Sarah Maizes.

Story telling is a wonderful exercise on so many levels. I remember with fondness my second grade teacher reading classics like The Very Hungry Caterpillar while we snuggled onto the carpet. Even the books I didn't like--such as that nasty Ramona Quimby--were made enjoyable by Mrs. Hendrick's warmth and enthusiasm.

Through story time I became the big man for the day in our classroom. The book I brought from home for Mrs. Hendrick's to read for the class was Body Battles by Rita Golden Gelman, which features the illness-fighting heros in our body. The class giggled the whole time at the personifications of earwax, mucus and white blood cells fighting bravely against the foes of disease. I rushed with enthusiasm as a classmate smiled and said afterward, "I like that book."

And so I stand behind storytime, not only because it gives something for the kids to do on the long days of summer, but because they genuinely  enjoy it. I know I did.

Unfortunately, my local library doesn't have any more storytelling days line up before school begins. But who's to say that won't stop me from volunteering to read at a local elementary school during the school year? I'm looking forward to sharing my enthusiasm, allowing a child to say, "I like that book."