Parents, grandparents, and caretakers, if your young kiddos haven’t been to the library for a while, you should go enjoy the newly remodeled children’s room.
Littles can enter through the “hobbit” door, sized just for kids. Adults you get your own regular sized door. With beautiful wood and impressive artisanship, the doors were built by J. Dyer Construction who also built the library addition.
Against the far wall are five cubbies with padded interiors so young readers can crawl into their space and relax while they enjoy a book. It looks so cozy I would have climbed in myself if I could fit.
Also eye catching is the aqua colored “throne,” a double wide chair for royal visitors and the readers who provide story time on Wednesdays at 10 a.m. Library Assistant Kristina Selby is the faithful reader.
Some research indicates that pre-readers need to hear 10,000 words a week to get ready to read! So, library reading time is an additional assist to parents’ endeavors to prepare their kids to appreciate books and learn to read.
Kids pull up mini chairs for reading time then get to do a craft they can take home. Reading time is open to all ages and parents get a break to chat with friends and discover their own books.
Along the top of two walls are stuffed animals. And get this… each one is connected to a book! I guessed Winnie the Pooh and Tigger correctly and also almost recalled Charlotte’s Web. On the floor are two beautiful rugs and another three new floor coverings are located in other rooms.
The children’s area is sunny, welcoming, age appropriately designed with more enhancements to come. The Library Board has been talking about this upgrade for a while and a decision was made to undertake the project last year.
This one room of the Meeker Public Library houses some 15,000 books. Ranging from picture books to chapter books in the next room, it is packed with choices. New books are added every month and offer topics for every young guest. Head Librarian Mike Bartlett orders around 100 new titles per month and approximately 20% go to the children’s section.
Why take your children to the library? Help them fall in love with books and encourage young readers. They will also get a bit of social time with other youngsters. Perhaps they will eventually learn to use the library to research school projects and discover the many ways our library preserves local history with both books and online resources.
In my opinion, reading is a fundamental life skill and you can’t go wrong spending time in a library, especially in our cold winters. Finally, libraries are public, meaning free, and open to everyone. This is a charming, joyful, and well stocked resource for every and anyone of all ages.
With grateful thanks to Kristina Selby and Mike Bartlett for their time and help with this article.
By KAYE SULLIVAN – Special to the Herald Times
