Book Buffet a Success at Calvert Library (press release)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 7, 2015

Contact:  Robyn Truslow  410-535-0291

 

“Party of four? Right this way, please.”  Words you normally hear in a restaurant, not a public library.   Calvert Library Interim Southern Branch has created a unique program that blurs that line a bit.  The first “Book Buffet” program was held in November with 21 people attending.  Families participated in a lively discussion of The Days the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt all while enjoying a dinner brought in from a local restaurant and paid for by Friends of Calvert Library.  The event was such a success that it will be repeated on Thursday, February 12 at 7pm using The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka. 

 

Melissa DeCesaris, Children’s Librarian cooked up the idea over the summer and worked hard to make it happen.  DeCesaris said, “I wanted to bring back the traditional book discussion.  No bells, no whistles, just great conversation about a book. I also wanted whole families to participate and to model what fun it could be to talk about books at the dinner table.”  A copy of the book was checked out to each family that registered for the event so that they could read it together beforehand. 

 

Once the families arrived, they were greeted by a library hostess at a podium. She sat them at their seats and provided them with an activity placemat about the book.  The room was set up as one large square table so that everyone was face to face and could actively participate in the discussion.  A yellow paper “table cloth” covered the whole table arrangement encouraging everyone to creatively doodle and think outside the box, just like the message in The Day the Crayons Quit.  Each place setting had a placemat, a pack of crayons or twistable.  Each family also received a numbered card that they were told to keep face down until their number was called. 

 

Once everyone was seated with their food, each child was invited to share “the peach and the pit” of their day.  Then the discussion began starting with question #1.  Each family took turns reading their questions and answering. These questions served to prompt conversation and encourage both parent and child participation. There was a lot of laughter as participants retold their favorite part of the story.  One set of siblings even bonded over learning that the other had been absent from school that day.  What an opening that was. “See, that’s why it’s important to talk at the dinner table!  You learn something new every day.” Everyone smiled in agreement and the conversation took off from there. 

 

Once finished eating, the group completed an illustration about the crayons while eating brownies for dessert.  As the night concluded, each child went home with an assortment of chopped and peeled crayons with instructions on how to make their own crayon creation.   On her way out the door, a parent said, “This was such a worthwhile event. When is the next one?”  Another attendee chimed in eagerly, “yeah, what’s the next book?!”   In case you have forgotten, it’s Thursday, February 12 at 7pm at Calvert Library Southern Branch with Jon Scieszka’s book The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs.  For more information and to register, call Calvert Library at 410-326-5289. 

 

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Robyn Truslow

Public Relations Coordinator

Calvert Library

850 Costley Way

Prince Frederick, MD  20678

410-535-0291

410-535-3022 (fax)

Calvert Library…Your Source for Awesome!