Library Brody

I have been reading to children for many years. I was first hired as a children's librarian in 1998, and I have had an ongoing obsession for picture books, easy readers, and chapter books for twenty-five years. Several years ago, I wrote a manuscript entitled It Takes Two, which begins as follows:  It takes two, me and you; one to read, and one to listen ~ it takes two.  Occasionally, I find that second person who loves listening just as much as I love reading.  This past year, I met a four-year-old boy named Brody who listens with wide-eyed (or wide-eared) wonder!  He has the cutest flat-top haircut and wire-rimmed glasses, but his most endearing characteristic is his auditory perception.

Brody listens.  He seeks out rhyming words.  He predicts outcomes.  He recognizes sequences.  He understands conflict and the need for resolution.  He reacts to the emotions of the characters, and he changes his facial expressions like text message emoticons. I remember one afternoon when his grandmother was reading The Three Little Pigs to him at the children's table.  She read that the first little pig built his house out of straw, to which Brody grabbed his forehead, leaned back in his chair, heaved a deep sigh, and responded with exasperation, "Now he oughta know that's never gonna work."  I laughed out loud!  How many times have I read that book to children? Brody is the first four-year-old boy to ever call out the little pig for his choice of building materials with that kind of response! I knew I had to write a story about my library buddy who starts big school next year. I won't be reading to him on Tuesday mornings, but I hope he stops by the library on Tuesday afternoons and reads to me.  I'm a great listener, too.

LIBRARY BRODY

Brody loves Tuesdays for two reasons.

Every Tuesday morning, the library lady reads to his Gingerbread Kindergarten Class and every Tuesday afternoon, his grandmother takes him to the Morton Public Library.

Brody loves listening to the library lady read books.

She tells his grandmother that Brody is the best listener, and Brody likes the way her voice changes when she says best.

Brody thinks listening to anyone read a library book is easy.

He knows how to hear a book just like it should be read.

"No, Grandma!" he interrupts. "Don't you know that you have to use a squeaky voice when the mouse is talking, and you have to use a roaring voice when you read the bear's part...like this ~ I have to hide from the bear or I'M GOING TO FIND THAT MOUSE!"

The library lady has lots of nicknames for Brody.  

When he walks into the library on Tuesday afternoon,

she announces, "Here comes my favorite book buddy!"

When she reads to his class on Tuesday morning,

she calls him the best listener.

But his favorite nickname of all is the one she uses when she introduces him to someone new in the library.  

"I'd like for you to meet Library Brody!"

He always laughs when she calls him that name.

Library Brody knows all the best spots in the library. 

He knows where to find pigeon books, and wrestling books, and new books ~ which the library lady keeps in a special place on top of the picture book shelves.  

On Tuesday afternoons when they stay awhile, he leads his grandmother to the reading table. Then he steps up to the check-out counter and asks for robot books.  

He knows that the library lady can find books about anything!  

He and his grandmother sit together at the children's table.  She reads, and Library Brody listens. "Grandma," he interrupts, "you have to read it with a robot voice, like this -- AF-FIR-MA-TIVE. Robots don't sound like grandmas!"

On Tuesday afternoons when they have errands to run, Library Brody turns the corner of the children's area and walks with eagerness to the book display. He knows the quickest way to check out the best books of the day, especially if his grandmother is in a hurry.  "Are these the books you read this morning?" he asks. Library Brody fills his arms with as many as he can carry before his grandmother edits his large stack with her usual response, "Let's leave a few for the other children to take home."

Most important of all, Library Brody knows the secret library code. The library lady told his kindergarten class about the code, and he remembers. Number one ~ It's fun. Number two ~ It's free. Number three...

"It's for me!"  Library Brody shouts to his class, and the library lady laughs.  

Then one of the kindergarten boys says, "Brody, you can't read yet!"

The library lady looks at Library Brody and smiles, "The library isn't just for readers; it's for listeners, too. And when it comes to listeners, Library Brody is the best one ever!"

Dianne ; )

(Just in case you are wondering how to read best in the above story, stretch out your neck, close your eyes, use a high pitch voice, and hold the word for about three seconds!)