by
Karen Holihen, Circulation Assistant
West Warwick Public Library
It finally happened—I turned fifty. But, as anyone who knows me will attest, I am really in the ten-to-twelve age bracket. Mentally, I have never grown up and have no intention of doing so anytime soon. Which brings me to my favorite place in the library: the Children’s Department. You see, I was hired to work at the Circulation Desk, which is great, but when I can steal some free time, I’m off to the Children’s Department. Let me tell you why…
First, they actually have a pool over there! A reading pool that is, which is great to relax in on a hot day, with the cool air blowing and a good book to read. One of my all time favorites is Strega Nonna by Tomie De Paola. I actually dressed as Strega—fake pot of spaghetti and all—at the book giveaway we had at the library. That evening my daughter was convinced her mother was “strange.” (Teenagers have no sense of humor.)
Angelina Ballerina by Helen Craig is great; it almost has you believing that mice would be cute little things if only they all wore tutus. Laura Numeroff’s If You Give a Pig a Pancake and If You Give a Moose a Muffin are fun stories that make the kids laugh. Which brings me to a question: when will Ms. Numeroff write, “If You Give the Nice Library Lady Ten Dollars?” Maybe she’s working on that one.
And last but not least among my favorites is Eric Carle, an older gentleman who has been writing books for ages. Young and old alike love his books. I only have a couple of issues with his books: why are they soooo big??? I am running out of space in the “C” section. Also, there is a cricket sound chip in the binder of The Very Quiet Cricket Book, and it gets stuck every now and then and we can’t shut if off! When that happens I want to re-name it “The Very Noisy Cricket Book.”
So, the next time you happen to come to the library, look for me. I am the lady who is usually walking around with the “Mig the Pig” puppet on my hand and singing the theme from “The Wizard of Oz.” I’ll probably be headed for the reading pool. Don’t be shy; come and join me. There’s plenty of room in the Children’s Department for the young at heart.
Updated on ... October 08, 2003