Storytime : the cursed

When I showed up for storytime a couple of weeks ago, I was mad at myself for not washing my hair or putting my "contaclenson" (as Suzanne says) because there was a journalist waiting for us. The Voix du Nord was interested in doing a little article on storytime so had contacted the library that morning. Luckily, Marie was able to get in touch with the main library to get permission.

So, we did storytime with a full house (8 kids including some I don't know!) and a journalist taking pictures. Afterwards, she interviewed me and a couple of the participants (my friends). You can find the article here. (By the way, I did not say what I am quoted as saying...). It's a good thing Suzanne was sitting on my lap in the picture.

In September and October, we are testing the Saturday morning time slot to see if we attract a larger audience. Wednesday is always a tough time in France because it's the day that kids are off of school so they often have activities like dance or circus or music or fencing...

So last Saturday was the first test. Friday, I got an email from the librarian - not the usual one since Marie had already told me should couldn't be there- saying she couldn't read with me and could I do it alone. Once again, I swore up and down because stortytime seemed to be cursed. I was mostly worried that because of the press coverage, there would be more people. And based on the experience of the first storytime which I did alone because my partner had appruptly left the library, I was scared : most of the people who attended the first storytime which was in English only have never come back. So, I reassured the librarian, told her I'd come in early to prepare and we'd do an easy and foolproof version.

In the end, it worked out perfectly. Fatiha, who was Saturday's French reader, did a great job. We chose a simple selection which included : Brown Bear Brown Bear, the Very Hungry Caterpillar, Tout le Monde Dit Hello, What Faust Saw (my favorite book of the moment which is unfortunately out of print), and Little Blue Little Yellow (which I read on my own). The crowd, which included 2 newbies and 1 second-timer along with my kids and some friends' kids, was entusiastic. Fatiha even said that it was a good turnout for a Saturday morning.

October dates are Wednesday, 12th and Saturday,15th. Come one, come all!

PS Pictures to come soon.