Reese is transitioning to a one-nap schedule and also to a strong preference toward napping at home rather than on the go, which, yay for predictable naptimes. But needing to be home from 10:30 to noon makes visiting libraries that are open from 9 to 2 seem a bit logistically hairy. So we went for a nearby one today while we work that out.
Travel notes: Uphams Corner was our last Dorchester library (of the six!) to visit. It is 2.3 miles from home, though not particularly straightforward by public transportation, so we ran there and back with the jog stroller.
Teresa’s rating: Venerable. I came with no particular expectations for this library, which I knew was slated to be replaced soon, especially once I saw it shared a building with several other community services. The adult area was small (though well-cared-for), but through the exit door, down an industrial staircase (it was urbex-y!), and we came to the children’s room, which is all vintage dark wood shelves in a FORMER SWIMMING POOL. It was so cool! (On further reading, I learned that this smallest BPL library has been here since 1904, making it the longest-standing BPL location, save for the Central library. I’m pretty sad to know it’s moving on.)
Reese’s rating: 15/10. Great toddler toys (puzzles, puppets, blocks) and a wide selection of new-looking board books (many unfamiliar to us, which doesn’t happen often; toddler lit may by definition be an exercise in repetition).
Teresa’s book: The Strange Library, by Haruki Murakami. This Murakami novella grabbed me with its unusual package (weird vertical flaps). I can’t say I fully understand what it is yet (see: impatient toddler; approaching naptime), but I picked it up to show to some Murakami-aficionado friends.
Reese’s books: LMNO Peas by Keith Baker seems to be an alphabet book about occupations? Except all the characters are peas? (Also, I later learned that this book is part of The Peas Series, which includes LMNO Pea-quel.) Train!, by Judi Abbot, is a story about a single-minded toddler (in literature as in life ...). Spoiler alert, I feel like the tunnel is sort of a deus ex machina, but the book includes fun-to-read choruses like “Train-plane-car! Train-plane-car! Digger-digger-digger-digger! Train-plane-car!”
Nearby attractions: Dorchester North Burying Ground is Dorchester’s oldest landmark (est. 1633) and one of Boston’s six seventeenth-century cemeteries.
