Friday, August 25, 2017

Sleepover...at a library!

On 7/28/17, which was a day where rain was forecast to be "sideways," I went to a library sleepover. But I did not sleep over.

For 22 consecutive years (except 2010), Damascus Library in Damascus, MD has hosted a summer SleepOver for kids ages 8-10 (and a group of brave parent chaperones). In years past, the event let in 50 kids but due to budget cuts and staff regulations, they now can allow no more than 35. No matter the attendance, it is an eagerly awaited annual event in the community and I have seen why firsthand.

This year, I had the privilege of being the featured author. The talk I give started at 9 p.m., the second-latest I have ever spoken in a professional capacity.

And I was only the opening act.

After my Q&A, the kids ate pizza and ice cream (filling kids with sugar at 10 p.m.: abandon all hope ye who enter here).

Then they played a lively game of book character bingo. (I got to watch one round before taking my leave.)



Then they watched a movie! (A short one, but still!)

And then…though it would've been around 1 a.m., they could read by flashlight a bit before bed…after all, it was a library sleepover…

Like I said, the parent chaperones were brave. (They slept on the floor like the younglings.)

Thank you for inviting me to participate in this wonderful and rare event. Kudos to the staff for keeping it going these many years. May it inspire other libraries to do the same.

No comments: