As you enter the Exposition Park branch Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Regional Library you are unmistakably in the heart of Los Angeles.
It feels like a sacred place – where people congregate for knowledge, peace and quiet, or just a spot to sit and be still.
Riley was especially loud this day, crawling and babbling to herself and anyone in the vicinity. She rolled around the floor and looked around the library while upside down. The ladies (including the friendly and informative security guard) quietly chatting at a nearby table were all smiles at us – thank you for understanding!
We found so many great books, as always. She wanted to pull down all the books from the shelves in her flurry of energy, but seemed content when I chose a few and put them down on the ground.
Since it is almost Mother’s Day, we got a beautiful book called Before You Came by Patricia MacLachlan and Emily MacLachlan Charest with Illustrations by David Diaz. We also got the gorgeous book Please, Baby, Please by Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee with Illustrations by Kadir Nelson. Both had been out on display.
Before After by Anne-Margot Ramstein and Matthias Arégui is a wordless book that illustrates the passage of time with wonderful images of before and after scenes.
A is for Activist written and illustrated by Innosanto Nagara, is a great board book. It’s beautifully done and even my own mother saw it after we brought it home and said, “We didn’t have these kinds of board books when you were little”. The messages in this book are strikingly relevant to our current political landscape. . .
Bee-bim Bop! by Linda Sue Park illustrated by Ho Baek Lee is a lovely book about making traditional Korean food. You will be hungry by the end. Happy Asian Pacific American Heritage Month!
Nursery Rhyme Comics with an introduction by Leonard S. Marcus – is a great graphic novel with fifty nursery rhymes and illustrations by fifty different artists!
I’m a fan of graphic novels. . . we looked at a few others in the Graphic Novel section of the Children’s section. These included Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle In Time adapted and illustrated by Hope Larson, and Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke.
We met the sweet librarian Jessica, who had previously left a comment on the 05 Arroyo Seco post stating that she was awaiting our arrival!
A little girl wanted to share her book with us, so we sat for a while and had a mini story time. I will forever be in awe at the enthusiasm of children looking at picture books, and the dedication and kindness of librarians to expose kids to different ones.
I’ve been thinking about how many children’s books are out there. . . and how many we still get to read for the first time. I am so grateful to public libraries.
The recent proposal of the White House budget completely eliminates the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). IMLS is the only federal agency that supports our nation’s libraries. I hope more people are also indebted to libraries and will help protect them. Read the Association for Library Service to Children ALCS blog for more information.
Libraries may be our most important teacher. . . so, Happy National Teacher Appreciation Week!