The Library Book
When I was growing up, I loved going to the library. I have fond memories of my skinny arms burning as I carried a huge stack of books from the library. As I got older, there weren’t enough books for me to choose from at the small branch of my library. I wanted MORE.
That love of reading was passed on to both of my daughters, likely assisted by the fact that we started reading to them from the get go. We definitely don’t have enough room in our tiny house for the mountains of books they go through so thank goodness for the library and e-readers!
Due to quarantine, our library books were even more over-due than usual. Though forgiven, I’m sure.
I brought our school library book stack back to school in May when we did a drive-through to pick up leftover locker things (plus treats because the teachers and staff at their school are so thoughtful).
And now that our library is open (curbside only) now, I can return these two books too, A Boy Like You by Frank Murphy and illustrated by Kayla Harren and The Library Book by Tom Chapin and Michael Mark and illustrated by Chuck Groenink. They were two good books to be in our house for an extended time.
The Library Book features an avid reader who goes to the library in search of more books to bring home. Chapin and Mark have turned their catchy tune, The Library Song, into a picture book made for book lovers. With the mention of many classic children book characters who come to life with Groenink’s illustrations. I think a lot of kids will enjoy picking out their favorite characters in a different setting.
The tune (and story) are catchy, but what really makes this picture book for me are the illustrations. Greonink captures the delight of this young bookworm on every spread. And the library looks like a second home not only to the main character, but me as well.
What do I think about as I flip the pages? I think about my skinny arms with the those stack of books from our small branch of the library. I think about taking Mini Me and Little Lion to the larger branch of the library where we live now. Going to all those lively story times and then picking through all the shelves for books to take home. And we ventured to all the smaller branch libraries when the girls were small—looking for different gems, joining in story time, and earning books and prizes with their summer time read-alongs.
And, of course, I also think about the girls’ school library. I have raved about their school librarians many times. They always have a friendly hello for me when I take Little Lion in the mornings. We have gone in waves—almost daily when she was in PreK, sometimes skipping when she wanted to play with friends instead, and most recently, at least 1-2 times a week when I was the one to drop her off. Yes, that’s one of the things that I miss during this time of quarantine—dropping Mini Me off for middle school (which starts half an hour earlier than lower school), then parking and walking in with my baby who is as tall as me. Next year, the girls will be at two different schools since Mini Me will be starting high school. Will I still have time to walk Little Lion in? Will I be allowed to with the new school restrictions to stem the pandemic? I don’t know.
But I can dream, right?
“Now I like books and they like me.” Books have always been my friends. And I’m so happy that books are a solace and an inspiration for my Bookworm girls too.
Tell Doctor Bookworm!
Confession: I started this post sometime in May. These two books were due on June 1 but I dragged my feet as I wanted to complete the post first. Luckily, my lovely local library granted me an extension, even though I’ve had these books since March.
What’s the longest you’ve held onto a library book? Which book was it? Let me know in the comment section. Click here to see which book I’ve held onto the longest.
