Librarians have long visited Senior Centers, Assisted Living Residences, and the like to bring a bit of the library experience to seniors who might find it challenging to trek to their neighborhood library. The librarian might do a book talk, lead a book discussion group, or even read aloud some novel of interest to a gathered group of listeners.
But what about a good,-old-fashioned story time with picture books, storytelling, and sing-alongs?
I once had the pleasure of hosting a group of about 15 senior volunteers who visited my library from a near-by assisted living facility. This group had done some community service somewhere in the neighborhood and as a way of saying thank you a tour of their newly opened neighborhood library was arranged. To acclimate them to the library - and to me - I decided to share a story (I’m a storyteller as well as a children’s librarian) and a favorite picture book (Sam and the Tigers by Julius Lester and Jerry Pinkney. Puffin Books. reprint edition 2008).
I was very intentional about choosing the story to tell and the book to share, knowing the demographic make-up of my audience. Because they were senior citizens, I choose the Story of the Cracked Pot (my version was from India). The gist of the story is that even though the cracked pot was aged, worn, and used, it still served an initially unrecognized, but ultimately beautiful purpose. Because the seniors were African American, I chose Sam and the Tigers, which is a re-telling of the Little Black Sambo story. Julius Lester revisits the racist and denigrating tale and reworks it into a story of confidence, quick-thinking, and positive community sharing.
Both the Story of the Cracked Pot and, especially, Sam and the Tigers generated a lot of responses and discussion which led to philosophical statements, shared memories, and critiques of the plot (of the story), text, and artwork (of the book). The discussion was peppered with references to getting more of these picture books that they could then share with their grand and great-grand children. We never got to the sing-along part, which was going to be the old radio jingle “ Button Up Your Overcoat” (replete with finger play!), although the general discussion somehow got around to old jazz standards and favorite singers from the 50′ s.
The program took about 45 minutes. The audience bonded, had a good time, and a great discussion. They left with the feeling that the library was relevant to them, in ways they hadn’t anticipated.
With intentional planning and forethought, a traditional story time served to reach and connect successfully with a non-traditional demographic.
What non-traditional, out-of-the-ordinary story times have you created?
