One Small Person In The Children's Library

For the past two days, something has been drawing me to the Children's Library. I've tried pushing the feeling aside, but today I gave in. It must have been the day I was supposed to be there.
As I walked into the bright, colorful library, I saw in the center of the foam block circle a little black-haired girl sitting on the blue carpet. She had her knees pulled up so she could prop her book up on them.
"Hi," I said. "Whatcha doing?
"Reading," came the soft reply. She didn't look up.
"Whatcha reading?" I asked.
Instead of answering, she looked up at me with a frown on her face and said, "Who are you?"
Caught off guard, I could only reply, "Someone who likes to read too."
She said, "Oh," and went back to her book.
"Can I asked you one question?" I said.
Looking up again and making me feel I had truly interrupted her, she said, "Only one!"
My, such maturity. She sounded like my mother.
"Well," I started, "if you could recommend only one book to your friends, what would it be?"
I could see the gears grinding in her head. She stared straight ahead while deep in thought.
"Only one?" she asked.
"Yes, m'am, only one."
It was her turn to say, "Well." Then she climbed over the red foam block and walked to a book shelf where she pulled out a rather large book.
"This one," she said and handed it to me.
I looked at the title. The Very Quiet Cricket by Eric Carle. And on the front of the white cover was a picture of a very large, colorful cricket.
"Why do you like this one?" I asked.
"Open it," she said. So, I did.
Suddenly there was the noise of a cricket chirping. "Crick-crick, crick-crick, crick-crick."
I raised my eyebrows and smiled at her. She smiled back.
"See," she said. Then she crawled back over the red foam block, sat down and began to read her book again. I had been dismissed.
The Very Quiet Cricket is a story about a tiny cricket. When he is born, he meets a big cricket who chirps his welcome. But when the tiny cricket tries to respond, there is not a sound.
As with Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar and The Very Busy Spider, this is a multi-sensory book; it is also multi-experiential. Children will see the bold, colorful, textured art; hear or read the rhythmic, frequently alliterative text; and finally hear the quiet cricket's sweet song as they turn the last pages of the book. All readers, even the smallest, will delight in the surprise at the end of the book.
That's what the little girl in the Children's Library wants everyone to know. That even the lowliest creature will find its voice, as silent or joyous as that may be.

Grumpy Was The Topic For Today's Children's Program

Once in a while, laughter floats through the main library. It usually always comes from the Children's Library and today I heard it again. So, I decided to investigate.
Sitting on the floor of the Children's Library was a group of about 50 Pre-K children with their teachers sitting on the outer perimeter as the control group. Miss Norma, the Children's Librarian, stood before them holding an open book and reading about The Grumpy Bird by Jeremy Tankard. As she read, she also asked questions, and the children shouted back the answers to her, laughed, pointed fingers and wiggled in response.
It was fun to watch the group of tiny children. Their eyes were wide with delight as they watched Miss Norma. They were intense at times, but none got up and none cried. When The Grumpy Bird was over, they all clapped.
Apparently before I got there, Miss Norma had told the children that Library Mouse, the Children's Library mascot, was not feeling well and was grumpy. She showed them how feeling bad and grumpy looks by turning her mouth down, stiffening her neck and shoulders, clinching her hands into fists, and making her legs quiver. She said she wanted to show the children her "mad-to-glad" trick.
Miss Norma asked the children to stand and copy her actions. She made the corners of her mouth turn down, her neck stiff, her hands into fists, and she shook her legs. Miss Norma said she wanted to show the children how to feel better, how to relax. Together the children and Miss Norma let their mouths go slack, rolled their necks from side to side and lifted their shoulders up and down, unclenched their fists, relaxed their legs and let them bend at the knees. Miss Norma asked the children to close their eyes and feel like they were flying through the blue sky. And as the children completed her instructions, they all agreed they felt better.
The next story Miss Norma read was Valentine's Day Grump by Rose Greydanus, about a fellow named Gus. It seems no one could make Gus feel better; not the mailman, the newspaper lady, or the milkman. Then Tippy, Gus's dog, came along and gave him a Valentine, and Gus felt better.
After the story, Miss Norma asked Library Mouse if he felt better, and he said, "Some." He whispers his answers into her ear.
Next Miss Norma led the children in the song If You're Happy and You Know It, Clap Your Hands, adding special verses about being grumpy and pouting. Everyone stood tall and sang and clapped their hands and stomped their feet.
Then Miss Norma asked Library Mouse again how he felt. He said he felt better, but wanted a Band-aid on his ear. Miss Norma told the children, "Sometimes when a person feels bad, all they need is a Band-aid to make them feel better." I heard one child say, "His ear is bleeding," and another said, "He needs a kiss." But when Miss Norma gave Library Mouse a kiss, all the children groaned, "Ouuuuuuuu!!!" Miss Norma said all that was wrong with Library Mouse was he had the Boo-boo Blues, and she had something special about the Boo-boo Blues she wanted to share with the children.
Miss Norma disappeared behind a curtain hanging from the middle of her office doorway and music began. Two brightly colored puppets appeared above the curtain and a puppet show began. The children laughed and squealed and chattered and pointed, then were quiet and suddenly would howl again at the antics of the puppets. It was fascinating to see the whole group of 50 or so children mesmerized by the actions of two hand puppets.
When the show was over, some of the children asked to see the puppets. Everyone laughed when one child said, "They're dead," because the puppets were not moving. But Miss Norma showed the children how the puppets looked up close and everyone seemed happy.
At the end of the program, she distributed pages to color that told about feeling sad and glad. As the children were preparing to leave, Library Mouse softly tapped each child's head as his way of saying goodbye.
Children's program days at the Moultrie-Colquitt County Library are fun days. They are scheduled by the various school groups, but if you have children and you'd like them to be part of the fun, call the library and ask when the programs are held. That number is 985-6540. Or the next time you're in the library, check with the librarians. They'll be glad to help you.