In Boyle Heights, you find Malabar Branch Library, the 18th branch of LAPL. It is a beautiful little building, next to Wabash Park and Recreation Center.
Riley and I made ourselves at home in the colorful and inviting children’s section.
There were so many stuffed animals that Riley wanted to hug. We took time to hug each and every one of the different animals (including the dragon that looked like a dinosaur).
Riley found some other fun toys as well. It was also around this time that I realized I had put her shoes on backwards when we got out of the car. Such is life with a child who is constantly removing her shoes. . .
She pulled a few books off the shelves and sat down with them. The first one was Stomp, Dinosaur, Stomp! by Margaret Mayo and illustrated by Alex Ayliffe.
She then sat with Frida by Jonah Winter, illustrated by Ana Juan.
She sat down with Hop, Hop, Jump! by Lauren Thompson, illustrated by Jarrett J. Krosoczka, next.
She followed those with Peter’s Chair by Ezra Jack Keats.
Bugs In My Hair! by David Shannon and The Seven Chinese Sisters written by Kathy Tucker and illustrated by Grace Lin waited to be read until we got home. We read all of them again at home. As we do.
There is something so wonderful about reading books together.
I love watching this small human learn to enjoy books. She loved the Stomp, Dinosaur, Stomp! book.
She loved all the books she had started looking at in the library, but this time we actually finished the whole book (unlike in the library). I found the Frida book enchantingly beautiful.
She really liked seeing the daddy and the cat in Peter’s Chair.
I got itchy reading Bugs in My Hair!
She smiled at the dragon in The Seven Chinese Sisters . . . I grinned at how the youngest sister found her words.
She danced while we read Hop, Hop, Jump!
All of these books were great finds, as usual. You can never go wrong when checking books out from the library. I never know what books she is going to respond to!
If you’re in the Boyle Heights neighborhood, join the Malabar Branch in celebrating Latino Heritage Month with the screening of the film : “Evita” on Friday September 15, 2017 at 3pm!
Also, Thanks to The Library Foundation‘s News and Calendar for Fall 2017 that I picked up as we left the library, I found out about the upcoming exhibition at Central Library and the programming series in participating neighborhood branches called Visualizing Language: “Visualizing Language celebrates the rich social fabric of Los Angeles through the lens of the city’s vibrant Oaxacan community — specifically, the Zapotec communities which make up one of the largest Indigenous groups in Mexico and Los Angeles.” Check it out September 16, 2017 until January 31, 2018!
