Book Suggestion Helps in Unexpected Way

As the Children's Librarian I get the opportunity to help library users find great books all the time, but I do not always get the opportunity to hear how they liked the book. This is one of those great stories!

I helped a mother find some stories to read to her daughter’s first grade class.   I gave her five or six picture books because she said that she could dress up as one of the characters from the story and I wanted to give her several options.  The week after she read to her daughter’s classroom, she came back in and said that she had used Miss Smith’s Incredible Storybook by Michael Garland for her “guest reader spot” and her son, who is four, even helped out by playing one of the characters in the book. 

She went on to say that the reading went great and the children in her daughter’s class loved the book, but even better than that, she had been able to use one of the other books that I had given her—Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes, in which a girl mouse is made fun of because of her unique name—to help her son feel better about his name.  She said he had been having an issue with the length of his name because it is only three letters and he felt that it was too short.  After reading the trouble that Chrysanthemum had in the story, she said he felt tremendously better about his own name. 

And as an added bonus, another mother from the same class was supposed to be the guest reader the next time and was asking for advice on finding a good story, so the mother I helped recommended she visit the Library and ask us for help.  I'm not sure if she actually came in, but I definitely appreciate her promoting the Library's services! 

Welcome to Joplin Public Library Makes a Difference!!

Welcome to a new blog about Joplin Public Library! We all know that public libraries make a huge difference in the lives of people and that libraries enrich the communities that they serve. Sometimes though, it is important that we put faces to the changes and impact we have on people. This blog is to do just that. When one of our staff hears or observes how we have made a difference in someone's life, we've asked them to write about it so we can share it with others. Library staffers will not use patrons' real names in order to protect their privacy, but the the stories they tell will be true. If you have a story about how JPL has enriched or changed your life, write about it and send it to jpl@joplinpubliclibrary.org. We'd love to hear about it! Check back from time to time to see our stories.