Downey City Library
by Lorine Parks
Some of life’s greatest lessons can be found in children’s books, but most of us realize this only after we are kids. For Downey Rotary Club members, a glance over our weekly Downey City Library book offers a second chance.
“I choose the books for Rotary,” says our speaker, Downey City Library’s Literacy Coordinator Claudia Dailey, “but the Children’s Librarian decides on buying the children’s books.”
And how does the Children’s Librarian makes choices? By consulting standard review sources, and catalogs from publishers. And the Library gives its children’s section a high priority, allocating approximately 25% of its purchasing budget for children’s books.
“Books for the Children’s Library” was the subject of Claudia’s program. Our Club has been involved with partnering with the Library since 2001, when we began the program of having Rotarians read to a circle of children one afternoon a week for an hour. That was augmented in 2006 by our decision to make a substantial annual donation to the Library, in return for which, Claudia curates a selection of books for us to examine each week. Our featured program speaker then signs the Library-made bookplate, which has become our way of honoring our speakers.
Claudia brought a big stack of colorful books, to illustrate how and why books help children to learn life’s lessons, as well as to read. To introduce each book, Claudia did not say, “I chose this one because.” Rather, she began by saying, “I love this book because,” and her enthusiasm was infectious. She then passed around the books so members could look them over while she continued her presentation.
This was an auspicious day to spotlight Downey’s Library’s Children’s Program, because this week celebrated a nationwide reading celebration that takes place annually on March 2: Dr. Seuss's birthday. The Downey Library has events all week celebrating Seuss, who The Cat in the Hat that became an exciting alternative to traditional primers. City officials and community leaders plan to go into the schools to read Seuss’s books, which is in keeping with the Rotary literacy emphasis of involving adults reading with children.
Claudia began by thanking Downey Rotary for its participation in the Books for Soldiers project the Library initiated a few years ago. “You showed up for the soldiers,” she said. Each member took a soldier’s name and then filled a box per his requests, with toiletries, socks and books, which the Library then mailed. “I’m impressed by the love you sent out in the boxes,” she said, “not just small ones either, but huge ones.”
To show the diverse range of books the Children’s Section offers, Claudia showed us Ada’s Violin, the story of how kids made instruments out of trash pickings. This picture book is aimed at children ages 4-8, and is the true tale of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay, an orchestra made up of children playing instruments built from recycled trash. “This story,” said Claudia, “shows that even the poorest child in the United States is rich in comparison.”
“Girls love ballet stories,” Claudia said, holding up Ballet for Martha, a picture book about the making of Martha Graham's “Appalachian Spring,” her most famous dance performance. Martha Graham was a trailblazing choreographer and Aaron Copland a distinguished American composer. Every picture in this book written for age range 6-10, is like a painting and the end notes are appropriately titled “Curtain Call.” The ballet is presented as a collaboration, a word the young readers learn to mean a process between choreographer, composer, and artist.
On a Beam of Light: the Story of Albert Einstein begins with baby Albert, “who didn’t say a word. And as he got older, he didn’t say a word—but he looked and wondered.” When he was a student, his teachers thought he was too different, but his differences led him to think about natural phenomenon like light and numbers in new ways. For children 6-9, kindergarten - grade 3, this is a young readers' introduction to several of Einstein's amazing ideas, and an equally valuable celebration of the advantages of being different.
Moon Shot is colorful and easy to read, and youngsters can identify with aerospace achievements here in Downey. Simply told, here is the flight of Apollo 11 for a new generation of readers and explorers: “the astronauts, clicking themselves into gloves and helmets, strapping themselves into sideways seats. Here are their great machines in all their detail and monumentality, the ROAR of rockets, and the silence of the Moon.” Here is a story of adventure and discovery, a story of leaving and returning during the summer of 1969, and a story of home, seen whole, from far away.
As we can tell, these are all books which will mean even more to children when read to them by adults who want to share with the youngsters their experiences with the stories. That’s been our emphasis, getting adults to share and show children that grown-ups care about reading too.
Other books, all for pre-school or early grades, included Bunny’s Book Club, about a book-loving bunny who sneaks into the town library and borrows books for all his forest friends. For ages 3-7 it is guaranteed to draw in book lovers of all ages. Among other selections were Henry’s Rainbow Box, about the painter Henri Matisse, and The Recess Queen, a story for children ages 5-8 on the issue of bullying.
Claudia began speaking behind the dais with her armload of books. After showing them all, she moved into the center of the room, microphone in hand, and answered questions from the club. Members wanted to know more about what she does at the Library, and Claudia said she also manages the Adult Literacy program, which is free and confidential, designed to encourage family literacy and lifelong learning, and which is part of the Library’s mission to help adults read more and better. At present she has trained some 65 tutors who meet weekly on a one-on-one with adults who speak English and need help learning how to read. The teaching method is based on phonics.
In addition, Claudia teaches beginning computer classes to adults. The Downey Library’s sixteen computers are located in the Computer Lab, directly across from the main entrance. Each computer is available to use for one hour per day. Access is free but a library card is required.
When asked how many books she reads, Claudia estimated that she reads 40 children’s books a week, plus library and educational trade journals.
When Judge Phil asked her the all-important question about whether children still “read” today, or if computer games and other fads have replaced the old-fashioned way to entertain oneself, Claudia’s answer was positive and forthcoming, “They do read.”
President Russell presented Claudia with our club’s annual donation towards purchasing extra books for the Children’s Room. As speaker, Claudia signed “the Book,” and she had brought one especially for this reporter to sign too.