Two Parents

At a recent Bedtime Storytime program, which was filled with mostly Dads and sons, I mentioned how nice it was to see Dads bringing their children to the library. One happy little girl piped up that she had a Mommy at home, also. I smiled and told her that she was a very lucky girl and that I hoped it would stay that way. All of the adults in the room chuckled, as they understood my veiled comment on the preponderance of single-parent households these days.

Eye Winker, Tom Tinker

Today during my Baby Time (0-12 mos.) program, I did the old, "Eye Winker, Tom Tinker, Nose smeller, Mouth eater, and a Chinny, Chin, Chin chopper" touch/tickle rhyme that I remember my Dad doing with me and my siblings when we were quite young. I was quite surprised to find that none of the young mothers at the program had ever heard that classic rhyme!

Plug Covers

Yesterday after storytime a parent discovered an uncovered floor plug and told me that it was unsafe. Yes, we try to keep all of the little outlet plug openings covered so that all the little darlings won't get electrocuted from sticking their little fingers in the little holes. The program room had been used the weekend before, and the group who used the room lost the round cover that normally goes over the round outlet plate. Since my daughter is now an adult, it has been awhile since I've had to worry about those things, and I didn't notice the missing cover. Until it was pointed out to me. I then checked all of the outlets in the entire juvenile area (inside and outside the program room) of the library, and I discovered many uncovered outlets. Not good. This morning before my work day started, I made a quick trip to Wal-Mart and bought lots of plug outlet covers. I wasn't about to wait until a supplies request for the covers was received, filled, and sent to my branch. Then I covered every outlet I could find anywhere near the children's area of the library. I realize, too, that an email to the janitorial supervisor may be necessary, as I suspect the cleaning crew removes the covers in order to plug in their vacuum cleaner, and then fails to replace them afterwards. Such a simple thing can turn into a major issue in a public library. A youth librarian's goal is to offer quality literature programs to children. But like physicians, we should first do no harm. A periodic outlet check is a good thing. I am glad that the parent pointed out the potential hazard to me. It zapped me into action, before a kid got zapped!

The Horse's Uvula

During one of my recent farm-themed preschool storytimes, a precocious 4-yr.-old named Isabella excitedly blurted out, in the middle of the story I was reading, "I see the horse's uvula!" And indeed she did. Everyone in the room got a chuckle and a vocablulary lesson.

Money Can't Buy Happiness

While taking a recent "staycation," I read two young adult novels, back-to-back, whose overall themes were that money can't buy happiness. Both were engaging, but for different reasons. Deb Caletti's THE FORTUNES OF INDIGO SKYE is full of snappy, LOL humor directed at the ironies of contemporary life. The heroine in the book is an 18 yr. old waitress trying to sort out her future. When an appreciative customer gives her a huge amount of money, Indigo's options markedly expand. And her life gets much more complicated. In the end, Indigo manages to chart an authentic course for herself, but not without a few reality checks along the way. Jennifer Bradbury's SHIFT is a riveting character study within the framework of a mystery. In SHIFT, best friends Chris and Win take a post high school graduation cross country bike trip together, but only Chris returns. The mystery surrounding Win's whereabouts ensues, with chapters effectively alternating between chronological episodes from the bike trip, and the ongoing investigative efforts to find Win. At SHIFT's conclusion, the mystery is solved, but the reader is left with lingering questions. Both books were solid reads that I heartily recommend for their entertaining approaches to values clarification and the concept of wealth.