Library By The Sea...How Children Are Spreading Book Joy

“Aunty, this is N. We have started a new library. Please visit us.”

I can rarely resist an invitation to visit a library, but when it is set up by children I know and work with, it’s simply irresistible. The invitation included details of the timings and a note that the library had books for both children and adults.

So, after coordinating with the children's Mom, off I went at the appointed time. I was greeted with bunches of flowers, one placed on the garden gate for me to find.

I was led up to their library…a neatly arranged space with labelled shelves, indicating their contents. New books are stamped before being put on the shelf. N even had a ‘librarian's desk’ and a ‘register’. He wanted to figure out how he could number the books, just like they were done in the Abacus Montessori School library. The book I borrowed was duly noted in the register, and I was quizzed by K about my return timeline as our travel dates did not match. I’ve been generously allowed to return the book when school reopens.

“I am Vikash Sir,” (our school librarian) said N, proudly.

“I am you.”, K added brightly, going on to share her plan to have story sessions for their friends on Saturdays.

I left with my heart full, thrilled to witness how much reading means to these children and how our school library has inspired them.

The bonus was meeting the children’s Aji, author Mini Shrinivasan, once again. When I first started sharing about children's books on Facebook, Mini’s ‘The Boy with 2 Grandfathers’ was one of the first I wrote about.

I’m sharing this with permission from the children’s Mom, because I’m so proud of little N and his sister K. They plan to spend their summer so meaningfully, spreading book joy by sharing their books with their friends.

.

In a time when we wonder how to get children away from screens, here is a beautiful example of how children can be joyfully and productively engaged and encouraged to read at the same time.

.

However, children need facilitators. That role invariably falls on the adults in their lives, be it parents or grandparents, to support their ideas and shape them in ways that would work for everyone involved.