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Books bring babies together
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Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.Poland librarian, Annette Ahrens, leads the Bonding with Babies and Books storytime with her own teddy bear on Nov. 25.
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Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.The children participate in different songs and activities. Ahrens demonstrated all of the moves and the children tried to copy and dance along with her.
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Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.The scarf song was a favorite among the children. They got to hold brightly colored scarves and wave them around while singing a song.
By ALEXIS BARTOLOMUCCI
The Poland library hosted the Bonding with Babies and Books storytime on Nov. 25. There was a large turnout of babies and their caregivers making for an extra energetic storytime.
Poland children librarian, Annette Ahrens, led the babies through a storytime filled with a lot of animal stories and activities. She started off storytime with the book “3 Little Kittens,” by Paul Galdone.
Ahrens used a teddy bear to act like her own child as the caregivers helped their children with the different activities. The teddy bear was a big hit especially with one of the little girls.
Several songs were sang, but what the children seemed to get the most excited about was the scarf song. The scarves were waved through the air by the children while a song was being sang. The brightly colored scarves attracted the attention of the children before they were even passed out.
“Smile Pout-Pout Fish,” by Deborah Diesen and “The Wheels on the Bus,” by Annie Kubler, were the last books read. When the stories were finished, Ahrens brought out two boxes full of toys for the children to play with. When the boxes were opened, the children rushed to pick out their favorite toy.
Bonding with Babies and Books is hosted by the Poland library and other Mahoning County libraries throughout the year. Sometimes the storytime is accompanied with a theme in anticipation for a holiday, while others are centered around other favorite books and activities.