Friday, August 26, 2011

The Best Day Ever

That was the verdict of one young reader at our Evergreen Branch this past Wednesday night. She was referring to the annual Mayor's Award, a celebration of the accomplishments of Everett kids who managed to complete their reading goal this summer.

What made her so happy? She, along with almost 100 kids at the Branch (and another 100 at the Main Library) met the Mayor and received a colorful certificate commemmorating her effort. Then she got to visit the face painter and the balloon artist, enjoy the refreshments, play with bubbles, and make a pipe cleaner and bead craft.

Volunteers from the Friends of the Library, who provide a huge amount of monetary support for this program, were on hand to help. They also encouraged attendees and their parents to "like" us on Facebook, and post any photos they wanted to share of the festivities. Amazingly, someone had posted a photo even before the event was over.

I would also like to extend a special thanks to Peninsular Lodge #95 F & AM for providing us with 8 grand prizes. The lucky kids who won the drawing for the prizes got to pick either a bike or a scooter, and go shopping to pick out exactly what they wanted. The Masons even provided a bike helmet and a lock and chain for each bike. I am so impressed with their generosity.

Friday, August 12, 2011

Playing with blocks

I have recently returned from a week spent babysitting my grandson. He's a 2 1/2 year old bundle of energy. He loves trucks, blocks, his neighborhood parks, grocery shopping, Bob the Builder DVDs, cooking (especially baking), and even being read to. We enjoyed reading Anna Dewdney's Llama Llama books, Good Night, Good Night Construction Site by Sherry Rinker, and many other books. We visited the library together, and it was fun to see how much he enjoyed everything about that visit, from pressing the button to open the front door to getting in the elevator and picking the floor for the children's room to selecting what books he wanted.

It's always good to be back home, but I do miss seeing the joy he takes in every little thing. It's easy to take our libraries and parks for granted, but seeing them through the eyes of a small child brings home how important these amenities can be to families.