By Chelsea Royer
Read aloud time at the Montesano Timberland Library attracts a lot of squirmy, excited kiddos. The children’s section is crowded with toddlers, moms and baby siblings as they wait for the librarian to announce that it’s time to go downstairs to the reading tree. Beautifully muraled, the reading corner has a magical feel to it as Carol, the children’s librarian, leads the troop of children in songs, books and games. Most everyone’s favorite moment is when Carol pulls “Scruffers” — a furry, dog-shaped puppet who is always over-eager for his treat at the end of his performance — out of his home. Children are invited to make a craft and sing along during a goodbye song before heading back home with their parents.
While the kids know they are having fun during this six-week, summer tradition, what they don’t know is how focused the program is on early literacy. “I’m probably most proud of that fact,” says Carol Brumfield, a library associate at the Montesano Timberland Library. “My philosophy is that play is the work of childhood and that we can teach kids to play with intention. The goal of the read-aloud program is to get kids ready to read, even when they’re toddlers. To educate parents and caregivers about how music, clapping, reading out loud and asking open-ended questions about the books leads to print awareness, an understanding of words, and early literacy.”
Carol’s lifelong love of books led her to pursue a degree in literature at The Evergreen State College. It was there she took a class in children’s literature and had her first job in the campus library. Ever since then, she’s been working for Timberland Regional Libraries with either her nose in a book or encouraging kids to put their own noses in one.
“Another program I am proud of at our library is the summer teen program. When I first started, we were lucky to get three or four [teens] interested. Now, we have between 20 and 30 teens involved! My goal now is to revamp the teen section in our library to make them feel more comfortable coming here.” Carol adds that this year, she tried something new to attract teens to the reading program and crafting events. “We used to have a specific day and time they would have to drop in at in order to do a craft. This year, we did all day Tuesday and Thursday crafts on a drop-in basis. Kids would come in when they had the time on Tuesday and then come back Thursday with a friend.” This year, the crafting mostly involved decoupaging things like masks and light switch plates with vintage-looking comic books and manga.
The theme for this year’s summer program was superheroes, in which the Montesano Library saw a record turnout and interest. “We had our first Harbor Con,” says Carol. “A spin-off of Comic Con where we teamed up with other libraries in the Harbor. It was held at the Aberdeen Library and we had over 100 kids show up!” Carol didn’t keep track of how much the teens were reading. Her thoughts are that, “If the library is fun, and that’s where books live, then books become fun to teens and they will naturally want to read more.”
Carol laughingly describes the six-week long program as one gigantic party with something fun going on almost every day. She’s seen teens make new friends at the craft table, young people learn to love books, and people of all ages enjoy visiting their local library. For elementary school kids, the Montesano Friends of the Library sponsors a book giveaway at the end of the program. “I love giving books away,” says Carol. “I’ve had some kids tell me it was the first book they had ever owned.”
The summer read aloud is one of many programs that are rotated throughout the year. The fall storytime and Mother Goose playgroup continues giving youngsters a chance at early literacy and an opportunity for moms and caregivers to visit. “Another of our programs is the Lego Club that meets once a month. It was an experiment last year, so this year will be even more fun. It starts in October and we see way more dads coming to have fun with their kids. Some of them are still in their work clothes.”
Carol’s creativity doesn’t seem to have limits. Whether she is hosting the incredibly popular stuffed animal sleepover, creating terrariums or introducing a curious little one to the fish on her desk, she helps add life and magic to the local library.
Find time to visit this gem, open Tuesday and Wednesday from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Thursday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Every single last one of the librarians in the Montesano Library adds knowledge, talent and a touch of whimsy to this delightful, local resource.
