Fall Greetings from Aidan's Library

Fall greetings from Aidan Library!

We made some physical improvements to the Library this fall, making the sitting area more open and adding eight (!) plants around on the shelves and floor. The plants are thriving—we have already needed to repot four of them—and it is wonderful to have so much nature inside, just like the Montessori classrooms have. And as part of the new windows project last summer, we have new window shades in the Library, which look very nice and help keep the book covers from fading by the sun! You will see in the photos accompanying this article that the pretty stained glass windows remain—they were not part of the window replacement.  

Primary students and Upper Elementary students have been coming up to the Library in small groups, a safe way that they can use the library in person. The Library is so happy to welcome them again! I read to the Primary students from time to time, and some books that they have particularly enjoyed are The Trip to Panama by Janosch, Don’t Touch My Hair by Sharee Miller, and Bruno the Standing Cat by Nadine Robert and Jean Jullien. The children universally love Bruno, and I think the appeal is both the funny idea of a cat standing up like a person, and the illustration in simple shapes and rich, flat colors.  

In Lower Elementary I recently read aloud two volumes of a series about Dani and her friend Ella, by Rose Lagercrantz and Eva Eriksson and translated from Swedish. What I like most about this series is that the author shows a full portrait of Dani’s life, including elements of sadness, anger, and also excitement and joy. Children like the humor in the books but I think they also connect with the situations and emotions that are so authentic. A number of the Lower Elementary students I read to, both boys and girls, were interested in continuing reading this series themselves—always a sign that they really liked the books!

Our new additions to the Library this fall include some wonderful nonfiction, and I want to mention one fiction book that I am reading now and will recommend to our older students—it is Merci Suárez Can’t Dance, the sequel to Merci Suárez Changes Gears, and it is just as engaging as the first book. Meg Medina infuses her books with wonderful energy and spirit (and she writes for a variety of ages - her picture book, Tía Isa Wants a Car, is also excellent)—I don’t know how she does it! It’s exciting that she has written another Merci book.

Happy Reading, and thank you for your support of our Library!

Nell Stewart