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Little listeners provide interaction
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .Boardman Barnes and Noble employee Laura Frey acted out the shrug of the namesake character in "Hugless Douglas" during her Little Listeners with Laura story time on Jan. 13.
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When the little listeners were asked to jump around to release some energy, they obliged happily.
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While listening to the story time, Rocco Cocca couldn't help but play with all of the toys displayed in the Barnes and Noble children's area.
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Francesca Cassese (center) followed along quickly as Frey asked the children to point out parts of their body, including their noses, ears, and fingers.
By SARAH FOOR
When Laura Frey of Boardman Barnes and Noble hosts her “Little Listeners with Laura” story time every Thursday, she hopes to entertain her guests, but wants the fun to go both ways.
To make sure her Jan. 13 story time kept that delicate balance, Frey read from books in the Barnes and Noble children’s section and asked for comments and suggestions during her reading.
A favorite book of the little listeners was “Hugless Douglas” by David Melling, which follows Douglas as he tries to find the perfect thing to hug. Although the book did not suggest reactions and questions, Frey included communication with the children that had them excited to guess what objects Douglas was hugging, which included rocks, trees, and leaves.
When Douglas found that his mom was the perfect thing to hug, Frey invited the kids to hug their moms and they obliged.
Welcoming more interaction with her little listeners, Frey asked the children if they had any requests for sing-along songs.
In an excited rush of words, Francesca Cassese answered.
“I want to sing my A-B-C-D’s and ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ — I know those ones.”
After entertaining Cassese with songs, Frey gave away pictures and coloring supplies for the children to enjoy.
“Boardman B&N has been open for the last 15 years and I’ve been doing ‘Little Listeners’ for 13 of those years. The purpose hasn’t changed much. We just have fun and sing and play,” Frey explained.