Story-time excitement

DAWN DE BUSK

Frontiersman reporter

PALMER - Three-year-old Rachel Farley and her little sister, Danielle, know when Thursday comes around because it's the day they go to the Palmer Library for story time.

One Thursday morning, the Palmer resident announced to her daughters that she was going to take a shower.

"The girls said, 'No, mom, you can't take a shower. We're going to the library,'" Farley said.

Two-year-old Danielle Farley knows the routine, and she isn't shy about marching right up to the book to help point out something in the illustrations.

The story-time session of 2-6 years old has been split into two groups by ages. Another story time has been added to Tuesday's library schedule, according to Candy Kopperud, librarian and reading programs coordinator.

So far, 15 kids attend that reading hour, Kopperud said.

Tuesday's session begins at 11 a.m., while Thursday story times begin at 10:30 a.m., she said.

Following a well-attended summer reading program, the story time for preschoolers began about four weeks earlier this year - at the same time Mat-Su Borough schools reopened their doors, Kopperud said.

"It takes about two to three weeks for people to get into the swing of it," Kopperud said.

If popularity is any indicator, story time, with a crafts activity that follows, has been structured into many families' weekly lifestyles.

Kopperud says the reading program wouldn't work without the assistance of volunteers. There isn't enough staff to man the library and run story time simultaneously, she said.

Four moms help with Thursday's 2- and 3-year-old group.

The quartet of women take turns reading about once a month.

In mid-September, Jack Ruggiero, 3, closely flanked his mom, Stephanie Ruggiero, while she read a series of books about the moon.

Other than his hand resting gingerly on her lap, he didn't appear possessive of his "story-time mom" while other children approached her and the books she was reading.

"He's never had to share me as a reader," Ruggiero said later during the crafts period. "We read a lot at home. I wasn't sure how he was going to do, but he did fine."

Farley, who brings her two toddlers to story time, said Ruggiero does a good job, too.

"She's great. She's able to block out distractions like people coming in late. Everyone knows how 2- and 3-years olds are," Farley said.

In addition to the twice-weekly readings to preschoolers, the library also hosts a family story time at least once a month.

A string storyteller, David Titus, will perform for an audience on Saturday, Oct. 15, at 10:30 a.m. On Oct. 19, an evening reading hour for interested households will be begin at 7.

Story-time hour runs through the end of April. In May, the library offers tours to school-age children, from kindergarten to eighth-grade, Kopperud said. Those tours include a 30-minute reading time in addition to learning about the library facilities, she said.

A series of books for the junior high and high school level students deals with weighty subjects like peer pressure and war.

"These books are simple and short and lead into open discussion with the kids," Kopperud said.

While those books act as a spring board for difficult topics with an older age groups, younger kids learn basic concepts as well as hone speaking skills by being introduced to literature.

"It's a great way to reach out to children and pique their curiosity," Kopperud said.

Dawn De Busk can be reached at 352-2252, or dawn.debusk@

frontiersman.com.