The Most Important Teacher

I was recently asked to talk about the importance of reading at a Bundles for Babies program conducted by the Airman and Family Readiness Center. In case you're unfamiliar with this program, it gives parents-to-be tips on parenting along with helpful local resources.

They say it takes a village to raise a child, and although I won't contest that claim, I will also stress that the most important teacher your child will have is you. Yes, YOU, the parent. It may not be obvious, but your baby is learning from you long before he or she starts speaking. A child's mind is like a sponge absorbing all that's around, and when it comes to reading, there's no such thing as too early.

When you read to your baby on your lap, your baby is listening to sounds, to language. He or she is learning how to communicate with the words that you speak. Reading to your child is also a bonding experience, something the two of you can do together. Time spent reading together helps your child associate reading with love and as an enjoyable activity to anticipate. Once your child is talking, you can discuss what you read together and teach different things through examples shown in a book.

It may seem like a lot of pressure (and it is), but reading to your child is setting him or her up for later in life. Reading encourages empathy, promotes an attention span, expands the imagination, and develops reasoning abilities. All these qualities will help in elementary school through college and beyond. School teachers, librarians, coaches, and others will provide support and do their part, but as the parent, you are the foremost teacher in your child's life now and in the years to come.

Wishing you and your child wonderful times reading from the perch.

Making Changes

How do you feel about change? Do you embrace it, ready to do something new and different? Or do you resist it, preferring the old and familiar?

The library is currently going through its biggest change in years--switching over to a new software system that handles all our library business. As you can imagine, we're a bit ambivalent about this. It means giving up a system to which we've become accustomed and learning a new, unfamiliar system. As a patron, you will also notice changes with our catalog and due dates for library items, among other changes.

We've all had to deal with change in our lives at one point or another, whether it's starting a new school, moving to a new town, or switching jobs. Some changes are easier than others, but there are books available to help us adapt:

• Small Move, Big Change by Caroline Arnold  Shows you how to make a big change in your life by focusing on smaller achievements, the "microresolutions" that add up to that big change.
• Life is In the Transitions by Bruce Feiler  Offers suggestions on how to give up an old mindset and find new strategies to cope with change.
• Tiny Habits by B.J. Fogg  Demonstrates how change can be easy and even fun when done in small steps (various exercises are included).
• Switch by Chip and Dan Heath  Through examples, shows how we can unite our rational mind (the part wanting change) with our emotional mind (the part resisting change) to make a transformation.
• Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson  Gives insight into how to deal with change using a short parable about 4 mice looking for "cheese" (what they want in life) by going through a "maze" (where they look for what they want). 

Sometimes change comes smoothly and sometimes it doesn't. If the change in our software system comes with a few bumps along the way, please bear with us as we're still adjusting. And of course, should you have questions, whether it's about our new system or anything else, feel free to ask us.

Wishing you positive future changes from the perch.

Just Keep Swimming

How are we doing on keeping those New Year's resolutions? Still doing well? Struggling a little? Ditched them halfway through January? Personally, I believe New Year's intentions are kinder and leave room for being simply human; resolutions, to me, feel more like a ball and chain.

My New Year's intention is to be more positive and grateful, and to help me to this end, I started a daily gratitude journal. At the end of each day, I write down 3 things for which I'm grateful that day. It can be anything, like a beautiful sunset, a cup of tea, a stranger saying hello, or reading a good book (big surprise). The one parameter I've set up for myself is focusing on things I have and avoiding the words don't or can't (i.e., "I'm glad I don't have to clean the bathroom today" or "I'm glad I can't visit Snake Island in Brazil"). Let's face it--don't and can't are negative terms while have tends to be more positive.

To be honest, so far I've had to combine a few days (I was feeling crummy with a head cold in the middle of January), but other than that, I've kept up with my journaling. It's given me cause to stop and think about the good that's around me. I'd like to think that when I do have a bad day, I can flip through previous pages and remind myself that things aren't as awful as they may seem in that moment. Anyone who's into mindfulness can tell you that moments come and go, changing all the time.

If you've had trouble keeping your New Year's promises to yourself, don't beat yourself over the head. You're only human. And remember that tomorrow is the start of another new year (not all new years need to start on January 1). The important thing is to keep on going. As Dory in Finding Nemo puts it, "just keep swimming."

Wishing you good vibes from the perch.

Don't Count On It

I've never been a big fan of numbers. Although (with extra effort) I got As in my high school math classes, I found the history of math to be more interesting than the actual math itself. Blame it on Miss Bailey, my 9th and 11th grade math teacher who never let anyone forget that Euclid was the father of geometry.

With so many making New Year's resolutions, I can't help noticing all the posts on social media asking people how many books they want to read this year or encouraging kids to read 1,000 books before kindergarten. I think it's great for those of all ages to include books and reading in their plans for the New Year. However, I have a problem with the counting part.

This is just the opinion of one perch librarian, but I think once you put a number to the books you read, you put unnecessary pressure on yourself. At first you may not give much thought to your goal of reading X number of books. However, over time, you're focusing more on achieving that number than you are on enjoying the books you're reading, which should be the ultimate objective. 

And especially concerning very young children, you want to make reading something fun, something they want to do in order to turn them into life-long readers. If you turn reading into a chore, kids will avoid them and likely have difficulty in school and beyond. Just relax and make daily bedtime or morning reading with your little ones part of a pleasant routine. The number of books read will take care of itself.

Remember--what really matters is enjoying the act of reading. Regardless of age, it's the quality of time spent with a book, not the quantity that's important.

Wishing you a year of pleasurable reading from the perch.

An "Awesome" Book

I have an awesome book suggestion for those of you who are too busy, too tired, and too stressed making all that holiday cheer. I know what you're thinking: "Perch Librarian, I have no time to sleep let alone read a book now of all times!" Well, the book I have in mind can be easily read in short snippets (even during a bathroom break) and put you in the spirit of the season now and year-round--The Book of Awesome by Neil Pasricha.

The genesis of the book is a blog Pasricha started in 2008 during a dark time in his life when his marriage fell apart and his best friend took his own life. "1000 Awesome Things" began as a form of therapy for the author in which he looked for an awesome thing to write about every weekday for a thousand weekdays. The blog went viral and, as they say, the rest is history.

I love this book, especially around holiday time, because it makes you stop and think about all the wonderful little things in life, the everyday things we often take for granted. Think of the smell and sound of a campfire, your favorite comfy T-shirt, hearing someone's smile over the phone, or popping bubble wrap (I love doing that!). Pasricha reminds us that many things we consider ordinary are actually extraordinary and make life worth living.

You can read this book from front to back like any other book or you can just open it to a random page and start reading. Some of the entries are several pages long while others are several lines, so no matter how much time you have, there's always room to squeeze in a few minutes of Awesome reading.

If you ask me, there just aren't enough books for adults that make you smile. Give yourself the gift of reading The Book of Awesome and find all the awesome that's around you.

Wishing you a holiday season full of awesome from the perch.

Lovely Love Actually

The movie, Love Actually, which surprisingly over the years has become a modern holiday classic, is celebrating its 20th anniversary (even though it was released 19 years ago in November 2003). I remember seeing it for the first time in a Beavercreek, Ohio cinema and loved it from the start.

Firstly, you have a dream cast of British actors. Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Liam Neeson, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Keira Knightley, Martin Freeman, and Chiwetel Ejiofor, just to name a few. And if you've seen these actors before in classic or serious roles, you're in for a shock. In Love Actually, they all let their hair down, so-to-speak, and dish up great comedy either with a stiff upper lip or in uncharacteristic ways. You'll see Hugh Grant doing a happy dance as the Prime Minister to "Jump," sung by The Pointer Sisters, and Colin Firth jumping up and down in frustration after gallantly offering his cab to an elderly woman at an airport.

Secondly, the characters of Love Actually are in different stages of love. Liam Neeson is grieving the loss of his wife, while his young stepson is experiencing his first big school crush. Martin Freeman is going through the awkwardness of new love; Emma Thompson is facing the heartbreak of love's betrayal. There's also unrequited love, love that transcends language, love between friends, love between siblings, and love (or is it lust?) on demand. Practically everyone can relate to one type of love or another.

Most of all, Love Actually is a comedy that actually is a comedy, not a comedy that resembles a drama. You'll laugh, you'll have fun, and you'll feel good at the end. Happily, you can borrow the DVD and other holiday movies from our library to enjoy at your leisure. Just one caveat--Love Actually is R-rated as there are some mature scenes and language. 

Wishing you happy holiday viewing from the perch.

Celebrate the Holidays...With Books!

We survived the October and November holidays, and now the big December holidays are upon us. Not a big fan of Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and all the promotional emails from stores? Want to enjoy the holiday season doing something that's less commercial and more meaningful? Celebrate with books!

I realize I'm biased as a perch librarian, but reading is the gift that will never go out of style no matter the age of the recipient. Books not only offer countless hours of (unplugged) entertainment, but also relaxation and learning. Here are some ideas to incorporate books into your holidays:

• Books as gifts.  This one is pretty obvious--give books to your friends and loved ones as holiday gifts. You can give them books you think they will like, or give them a book that you enjoyed and was significant to you.
• A book Advent calendar.  If you count the days before Christmas with your children, instead of chocolates or candy, wrap a book to be opened on each of the 24 days before Christmas (it's lower in calories). Your children will have a new book to look forward to reading every day.
• 8 (or 6) nights of books. Depending on whether you celebrate Hanukkah or Kwanzaa, give the gift of a book on each day of the holiday. This is something that both children and adults will enjoy receiving.
• Jolabokaflod. Get inspired by Iceland's tradition of gifting and reading books on Christmas Eve (while drinking hot chocolate!). Once everyone has their book, they can relax and read quietly to themselves or one person can read a book aloud to others. 

Whatever you decide, you'll have fun and make memories that are sure to last a lifetime. And if you're a little short on cash to buy books, come to our library and help yourself to the books on our Free Shelf. We have plenty of books for readers of all ages, from infants to adults, fiction to non-fiction.

Wishing you Season's Readings from the perch!