Sarah Merrit reads a fall-themed story to the children and parents last Friday at the library's first in-person story time in three years.
When the days get chilly and the nights get longer, nothing says fall like curling up with a good book. Last Friday, for the first time in three years, Wrangell children were able to enjoy story time together at the Irene Ingle Public Library, instead of at home through Zoom rectangles.
Sarah Merritt, library services support and designated storybook reader, shared four autumn tales filled with pictures of colorful leaves and plentiful harvests as kids and their parents listened. Near the end of the fourth story, when the children started playing with the library's rainbow cushions, Merritt declared reading time over. "We've lost our audience," laughed library director Margaret Villarma as the children headed to the tables for crafts and snacks.
Villarma and assistant librarian Sarah Scambler both agreed that in-person story time is much more fun than the online alternative, but they will miss the accessibility that Zoom provided. They recalled a little girl from Juneau who would attend every single virtual story time without fail.
Though the in-person format may lessen the event's geographic reach, library staff are hopeful that attendance will return to pre-pandemic levels now that families can gather in the library.
Before the pandemic, said Villarma, story time sometimes attracted up to 20 kids. "We were almost thinking we'd have to do two separate ones," added Scambler.
Friday's story time was a manageable size - by craft time, six adults and eight kids had arrived to decorate fall wreaths with stickers. "(We're) getting our feet wet again," said Villarma.
As attendee Nicole Hammer helped Tylon Grant decorate his wreath, she recalled attending library story time when she was a little girl. "The Christmas events were always my favorite time of year," she said. Last week's fall story time was Tylon's first. He is part of the event's new generation of participants, since many children aged out during the pandemic.
Story time takes place every Friday at the library starting at 10 a.m. Upcoming themes include "Alaska," "Cookies," "Halloween" and "Dogs & Cats."
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