LIVING IN MANVILLE
By:Mary Ellen Zangara
April is National Library Month and the Manville Public Library has an exciting calendar of events planned.
This month in the display case is a Storybook Village collection. The collection is on loan from Everything Country Rt. 22E in Annandale thanks to Barbara Jacob. Each lighted piece represents a child’s favorite nursery story of rhyme. Included in the collection are scenes from Mother Goose Book Cellar; Queen’s House of Cards; Little Bo-Peep’s Woolery; Hey Diddle Diddle Fiddles; The Emerald City, Rudolph’s Red Nosed Lighthouse; Cinderella’s Dress Shop; and Rapunzel’s Hair Salon.
Also on display are from Frosty Frolic Castle; Rudolph’s Bunk House; Hansel and Gretel’s Sweet Shop and a Storybook Village sign.
Starting next week, the popular children’s Storytime returns for another session. This will be the last one until the fall. Children ages 3 1/2-5 are invited to join this fun time. Pre registration is required to participate. The children’s librarian Ruth Bielanski along with Georgianne Holovach provide the youngsters with stories, songs, crafts and fun.
During the week of April 14, which is slated as National Library Week, a concert is planned as well as the Kids Kraft Klub.
On Tuesday April 16 the concert series continues with the Karen Zumbrunn Jazz Trio from 7-8:30 in the community room (see story on page 2A). Afterwards refreshments will be served.
The Kids Kraft Klub takes place 3:15-4 p.m. April 18 after school also in the community room. Pre-registration is required for all the Kids Kraft Klub events. During this time, the kids make a take home craft.
April 15 is also the start of Young People’s Poetry Week. Later in the month a poetry contest is being sponsored for children and a poetry workshop for adults. The poetry contest is open to ages 7-14 and held on April 23 from 3:30-4:30 and 30th from 3:30-4 and the winners of the contest will be announced on April 30.
Adults can learn how to write poetry during the workshops to be held on April 23 and 30th from 6:30-7:30 in the evening. The workshop is for anyone over the age of 14 years old.
A week later is Reading is Fun Week starting on April 21. That is the week to read and have a good time reading all those books. The National TV Turnoff Week begins on April 22 and is promoted to turn-off your televisions to sit and read with your children or by yourself.
Today everyone is into watching the TV so much that some don’t take the time to sit and read to their children or even read a book themselves. Try to read at least one book during that week.
You can try your luck by guessing the count of whatever is in the jar for the month and join the many winners. The book sale is ongoing and for 25 cents you can purchase hard covers, paper backs-10 cents; magazines-10 cents and videos are $1 each. There are always new books and magazines coming in to buy and read.
A poem hanging in the library is very appropriate for this special month. It is entitled "The Library" by Barbara A. Huff:
"It looks like a building, when you pass it in the street,
made of stone, and glass and marble, made of iron and concrete.
But once inside you can ride a camel or a train,
visit Rome, Siam or Nome, feel a hurricane.
Meet a king, learn to sing, how to bake a pie,
go to a sea, plant a tree, find how airplanes fly.
Train a horse, and of course, have all the dogs you’d like,
see the moon, a sandy dune, or catch a whopping pike.
Everything that books can bring you’ll find inside those walls.
A world is there for you to share when adventure calls.
You cannot tell it’s magic, by the way the building looks,
but there’s wonderment within it. The wonderment of books."
So stop by the Manville Public Library and see what’s new.
Mary Ellen Zangara is a lifelong resident of Manville.