For Each and Every Chapter | Brooklyn-Londyn

Brooklyn (2.5 years old) and Londyn (1 year old) can’t yet tell their own stories, but they’re already becoming lifelong learners, so we asked their father, Stan, to share a bit about the important role Stark Library is playing in this chapter of their development.

“We’ve had our daughters at the Library from day one. My wife, Erica, took a year off from teaching when our second daughter, Londyn, was born so the three of them would head over to the Plain Community branch for Storytime and some of the Lunchtime Plays. It was great to see the concepts and ideas in their books come to life; Brooklyn’s imagination was sparked by seeing her favorite characters live and in person.

But the Library comes home with us too. Through Stark Library, Brooklyn and Londyn both signed up for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, so once a month they receive a book at home. We love that the titles are age appropriate and meet them right where they’re at in their learning. Londyn is entranced by picture books at the moment, while Brooklyn is starting to handle conceptual thought books - mastering her colors, letters, and numbers. A is for Awesome is introducing her to famous women from history, and it’s more than awesome that she can identify and start to see her own life potential.

We make a big deal when the books arrive in the mail, because we want to promote literacy. We want her to understand that it’s a privilege and an opportunity to add to our library. So far, it’s working. She wants to open the packages and read the books as soon as they arrive at our home, often sitting at the dinner table, over a meal. And this is a gift that keeps on giving because - now that Erica is teaching again, back in her pre-K classroom - she’s becoming aware of Library books that she can use with her students there as well.

I’m not going to lie. It’s not all about learning. Sometimes, it’s just nice to stop at the Library when we’re out running errands and our girls need to blow off some steam. The interactive play tables allow them to expend energy and decompress, get re-centered and re-focused, and give Mom and Dad a bit of a break from back-seat shenanigans. It’s like a pit stop that keeps everybody in our family a bit calmer and happier.

Erica and I are constantly becoming aware of more resources the Library has to offer, and we’re excited to get our daughters involved in as much as possible. I don’t know if we’ll be able to read 1000 Books Before Kindergarten, but we’re going to grab a card and move through as many titles as we possibly can. And we keep seeing commercials for ABC Mouse, so I’m sure it won’t be long before the girls are learning from the curriculum available there as well."