by Gary Mlodzik
Photos by Gary Mlodzik
The Grow Your Library program visited the scenic desert hills of Kearny, Arizona to share a story time with 14 children, ages 4 and under. The Kearny Public Library was filled with so many smiles! Curiosity was elevated, waiting to hear and see new things. Tina Mlodzik read Starfish On the Beach and allowed the children to touch a real starfish. Many of the children had never been to the ocean or seen an actual starfish before this event.
Watching the emotions of the children as Tina read out loud was a wonderful experience. The main character sees how starfish wash ashore and die if not put back into the water. The little girl’s mom sadly tells her that she can’t save them all. As the little girl picked up a starfish and put it back in the water, she was proud to have saved that one.
The children were also treated to the story, Rappy Goes to the Library. Rappy is a raptor that speaks in rhyme and goes on a school field trip to the library with his classmates. Rappy tells about all of the fun and adventure to be experienced through books. Thanks to a generous donation arranged by Rappy’s author Dan Gutman, his publisher HarperCollins donated enough Rappy books for each child to have one of their very own.
The children really enjoyed picking out a non-fiction book donated by Scholastic to keep. These books told about bridges, Antarctica, South America, drones and many other fascinating subjects. The old saying is, “You can’t judge a book by its cover.” That saying must not apply to little ones, because their eyes lit up when they saw all of the book covers.
In total, each child in attendance went home with three books: Rappy Goes to The Library, a non-fiction book, and an Early Level Reader. Each child will be receiving a Highlights magazine as well. The kids were excited to receive these treasures, and many parents expressed their gratitude to Kids Need to Read. Parent Leah Wade exclaimed, “Thank you guys so much!” Leah’s four year old son Benjamin was the lucky winner of our prize pack, which included a copy of Starfish On the Beach, two real starfish and one plush starfish, all wrapped up in a string backpack.
According to Kearny Public Library director Janet Danilow, Kearny is a small mining community. While many residents work at the local mine, there are a lot of unemployed and low income families. Arizona native Sam Hosler notes that Kearny’s town library is a hopping place. Visitors make use of the free wifi and the library is a WorkForce connection site, with computers and software to assist people looking for work.
What Kearny doesn’t have is a town budget to buy books. To obtain books, the library depends on Pinal County contributions when available. Private book donations are always welcome. Along with the Grow Your Library story time event, Kids Need to Read donated 240 books, hand selected according to the priorities set by Janet. The value of the books is $3,144. Janet stressed that these books will benefit the teenagers and even the adults of the community, because the vast majority are for young adult readers. Many of the adult patrons prefer this category of book for their less explicit content.
The Grow Your Library program has now visited thirteen libraries across the United States. Community response has been inspiring. Kids Need to Read received this Facebook message from Diana Herrick of Kearny:
Thank you for sending books to our library; it is such a gift of love to our small community. Kearny, Ariz thanks you.
In 2018, six libraries will be receiving books grants of no less than 200 books from Kids Need to Read. These libraries are in New Mexico, Arizona, Mississippi and Alabama. In the picture below, you can see the books on the two library carts at Kearny representing a typical Grow Your Library donation.
As this program continues to grow, Kids Need to Read is thankful for the moral support and book donations from authors and publishers. We also appreciate the generous financial donations of our supporters.
Like the passionate staff and volunteers at Kids Need to Read, many people feel reading should be a priority in the life of every child. To be a part of this amazing support team, please make your tax deductible donation to Kids Need to Read.
