If you have walked by the ELC library and heard strange noises, perhaps something like “The cat is at the end, Fo Feng, Fo Feng!” don’t be alarmed, it’s only the children learning about books and the treasures contained in them. Your children may be coming home singing songs that we have read in books, like Robert Munch’s “Clang, clang, rattle bing bang” from the book Mortimer. Maybe your children are bringing home Princess books or Thomas the Tank Engine books week after week. We at the library beg your indulgence because the children are learning important lessons about the library while they drive you crazy. They are learning that, while the library is a place to work and study, it also is a place where a child can choose a book he likes, take it home and read it (or have it read to him) all for free. He learns the responsibility of returning those books and checking out new ones.

When your child comes to library with half his class every week, we read aloud and he discovers the relationship between words and the letters on a page, he learns how a book is read and which direction the words and pages go as we read along. He learns the language of books. Words like “author,” “illustrator,” “paragraph” and “title;” “contents,” “page number,” “binding” and “chapter.” He learns the care of books. He learns how to turn pages lovingly so they don’t tear; how to treat these treasures kindly so they last for others to read.

So, if you are thinking, “One more book about fire engines and I’ll hit the roof!” remember: That book is special. It’s special because of all the books in the library, your child chose it to take home for you to read to him.