When I tell people my favorite thing I do at work is a Storytime for Grown-ups, I usually get a mix of disbelief and curiosity. It sounds a little unconventional at first, but there’s something special about this program. Here's why I started it, and what keeps me coming back.
Of all the programs I have developed and presented in my career, my favorite is probably "Storytime for Grown-ups." I read a children's picture book to adults, followed by an excerpt from something written for adults. The adult selection is carefully chosen to connect with the picture book in some way. You might think no self-respecting adult would go to the library just to sit in a semi-circle while a librarian reads picture books to them (and even encourages them to participate by making all the appropriate noises as well). You might think that, but you'd be wrong. The people who come seem to love it, and they participate with a delightful blend of excited child-like appreciation and intelligent adult analysis.
It was the gorgeous art that first made me say, "I want to share this with other adults who would never see it." After all, most grown-ups think of picture books as something to be read to their children or grand-children and then put aside when the child is too old. I wanted to give them permission to look at the art for themselves, to appreciate it for what it is. More picture books than I can count filled me with this desire to share, but it was specifically while looking at Jon Klassen's We found a hat that I realized I could and must invite others to appreciate these little art galleries.
I have loved the beautiful paintings in many picture books for as long as I can remember. Some of my earliest memories, in fact, involve picture books with beautiful or intriguing illustrations. The Color Kittens by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Alice and Martin Provensen has a picture of a white dream tree that still haunts me (in a good way) decades later. And the Provensens' illustrated The First Noel: The Birth of Christ from the Gospel according to Saint Luke is still, after many decades, one of my gold standards of graphic beauty.
It was important to my mother to expose her child to beautiful art, since she herself was an artist. I think she would be happy to see her son continuing to share beautifully illustrated picture books. I am always thrilled to hear the "ooo's and aaah's" when I turn the page of the picture book to a particularly gorgeous painting, just like my mother enjoyed my enjoyment of the art she shared with me.
Children often appreciate the pictures in these books, of course, but adults take it further. They want to know how the art was done. Was it gouache and pencils, purely digital, collage, or something else? And they notice hidden details and artistic decisions kids would never see. For example, in one book in which a tiger disappeared, several in the group noticed, when I turned to the next page, that the negative space in the picture of the jungle strongly hinted at the shape of the now-disappeared tiger. We once spent at least ten minutes talking about why the artist had drawn the eyes of one character at just that precise angle.
I began this to share the art, but the stories have become just as important to me and the participants. But really, it's still the art that keeps me coming back every week. The art and the amazing conversations. If you are in Mason County, check the events calendar and stop by the Hoodsport, Shelton, or North Mason library for storytime. You just might discover your new favorite thing.
