Tuesday Slice: How it should be

They see me at the front door.  "It's library day today!" some say, smiling.  Others aren't fully awake yet, meet me with sleepy eyes as I remind them to use hand sanitizer on their way to breakfast.

Later, they bounce into the library.  "Another monster story today!"  Our summer school logo is a cute monster; I ran with the theme.  Last week we shared My Teacher is a Monster! (No, I Am Not) by Peter Brown; this week, it's The Monster Who Lost His Mean by Tiffany Strelitz Haber.  The oldest classes are listening to a Bluebonnet Award Nominee, The Best of Iggy by Annie Barrows; fingers crossed that we finish it next Tuesday.

The story and following discussion run short of our twenty minutes, so we spend some time talking about the kinds of books they'd like me to pull for checkout tomorrow.  There's always a few who are hesitant to answer, but once hands are raised and choices are shouted, even the sleepy ones chime in.

"Snakes!"

"Ninjago!"

"Fairies!"

"Soccer!"

"Mysteries!"

"Superheroes!"

"Big fat books!" (Prompting a reminder that we choose books for their content, not their size...and the short period of time we have in this summer program.)

The session is coming to a close, so we wrap it up with some round-robin storytelling.  The teachers return from their brief break and leave with their tiny groups.  I have ten minutes to reset before the next classes come.

They are happy to come to the library, too.  They know what kinds of books they want to read.  And that is how it should be.