Our Little Library Lover

Those of you that know me well, know that I am a lover of libraries. I remember volunteering at the tiny branch in my hometown while I was in elementary school. I had to take a little test before starting, and I was stumped as to where the authors whose names started with Mc should be placed in the M category. I remember Ms. Halroyd reading books aloud to our class at school and I remember putting white label stickers on the back of my own books to "scan" them with a stapler. I remember going to the huge branch downtown and seeing the gingerbread houses at Christmas time. I remember the first time I realized you can check out videos and magazines at the library. I remember teaching at a small private school with a very limited library and discovering the amazing resources of the Cary library in NC (still the best one ever, in my opinion!) I also remember walking into the library with my dad one day during lunchtime and the librarians greeting him by name because he spent many lunch hours there. It's in the blood.

So, today, when we went to special storytime at our library today (which we joined the second day after we moved to town), Audrey wanted to check out some books. Unfortunately, we had already met our limit of 25 check outs on our card. When you count how many books and magazines I have checked out for all of us, 25 becomes a small number. The children's librarian overheard that we would have to wait until next time and saw Audrey's disappointment. She let us know that even little ones can have their own cards. In her words, "If they can pick them, they can check them out." Audrey's eyes lit up! "My own card???" she asked. Straight up to the desk we marched, and she received her first card. She was so excited to spell her name, and when I asked her how to spell it, she said, "A-U-D-R-E-Y, Audrey Elizabeth King."

The excitement only continued when she realized that she could check out her beloved Dora, Curious George and Veggie Tales with her card. When the librarian offered her a lanyard to wear her card around her neck, her love was sealed. What can I say? She is our child!! She was delighted to offer her books to the check out librarian and take her card off of her neck. It is now hanging beside her backpack and lunch box, ready for its next trip for storytime next Tuesday. We love our little reader!