Our Latest Addition...The Reading Garden

If you haven't been in the children's library for a while, you're in for a treat. And if you have small children to bring, they're in for an even bigger treat.
Our latest addition to the children's library is The Reading Garden.
It's a project made possible by The Moultrie Junior Women's Club. It started with a rainbow of printed hands high up on the white wall of the reading area. You know, rainbows are in an arc, and the hands span the wall in colors of purple, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red. They're in all different sizes, with the smallest hands being those of a baby.
After the rainbow was finished, a Junior Women's Club member came back and painted yellow sunflowers with tall green stems and leaves at floor level.
Then with the help of husbands, the members made a white picket fence. It encloses the storytime area. Miss Norma, our children's librarian, said it changes the whole atmosphere and look of the
room.
When the children come in, they sit on the dark red rug inside The Reading Garden and watch and listen to Norma as she enchants them with her stories and clever actions, including her puppet, the Library Mouse.
Norma said one of the nice thngs about the white picket fence is the ledge along the top. It allows her a place to display books and items of interest, which the children can handle.
Norma's been collecting quotes from people when they first see The Reading Garden, such as: "Cool," "I like it," "Cute as a button; I love it," and "How did it get here?"
As for how it got here, it came by way of a pickup truck late one Tuesday evening. People came with hammers, screws and screwdrivers. Norma said the children always want to know how many hammers and how many screws? So, the fence brings about interesting conversations with the children.
As for the atmosphere of the room, Norma said she's now thinking about adding a tree, possibly a palm tree, with all kinds of amusing things hanging from the leaves.
I'm sure The Reading Garden will be like any garden...continually growing and changing through the seasons, delighting its small visitors. And its large visitors also...the parents, teachers, and caretakers of our small visitors.
Thanks Moultrie Junior Women's Club. You've made an enchanted world at the Moultrie-Colquitt County Library for people of all ages.