A spool of thread
Tuckova's comment about The Tale of Despereaux reminded me (thank you!) of something I've been meaning to include as a tidbit but kept forgetting about. Really. Just yesterday I was sitting here thinking "what was that thing that happened on Sunday, after work, that was amusing and I was going to share?" Don't you hate it when you keep forgetting the same thing over and over? I had a professor in college whose name I couldn't remember for the life of me mere months after graduation.
Anyway, Despereaux! First, the book was recommended to me by the librarian I work with, so I listened to it on tape and fell in love. Nothing makes the commute more pleasant than 'the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread.' This is one of those books that makes me want kids just so I can read out loud to them. It is your destiny, Reader, to love this book.
Fastforward to Sunday. We close up promptly at 5 at the library, and we were standing in the back chatting before walking out the staff entrance, when we see a couple women peering in the windows at us. We try to avoid eye-contact so they'll get the hint that really, we're closed. They walk away and we lock up. I'm crossing the parking lot when a truck with the two women in it pulls up next to me. I figure they're wondering when we open the next day or somesuch, but instead one asks:
"I was just wondering if you could tell me who wrote Because of Winn-Dixie?"
I panic for a second before the title registers, and then I say confidently "Kate DiCamillo." I can even spell her name for them.
"Thank you!" they gush. "And it won the Newbery, didn't it?"
"Actually," I say, my fount of knowledge gushing at full speed, "her other book, The Tale of Despereaux won the Newbery. I think Winn-Dixie was just a Newbery Honor."
After they drove off, my supervisor asked me, "What did they want?"
"To know who wrote Because of Winn-Dixie."
"I'm glad they asked you and not me!"
And that, folks, is why I work at a library. Because I love it when people want to know about books, and I can give them what they want.
Anyway, Despereaux! First, the book was recommended to me by the librarian I work with, so I listened to it on tape and fell in love. Nothing makes the commute more pleasant than 'the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread.' This is one of those books that makes me want kids just so I can read out loud to them. It is your destiny, Reader, to love this book.
Fastforward to Sunday. We close up promptly at 5 at the library, and we were standing in the back chatting before walking out the staff entrance, when we see a couple women peering in the windows at us. We try to avoid eye-contact so they'll get the hint that really, we're closed. They walk away and we lock up. I'm crossing the parking lot when a truck with the two women in it pulls up next to me. I figure they're wondering when we open the next day or somesuch, but instead one asks:
"I was just wondering if you could tell me who wrote Because of Winn-Dixie?"
I panic for a second before the title registers, and then I say confidently "Kate DiCamillo." I can even spell her name for them.
"Thank you!" they gush. "And it won the Newbery, didn't it?"
"Actually," I say, my fount of knowledge gushing at full speed, "her other book, The Tale of Despereaux won the Newbery. I think Winn-Dixie was just a Newbery Honor."
After they drove off, my supervisor asked me, "What did they want?"
"To know who wrote Because of Winn-Dixie."
"I'm glad they asked you and not me!"
And that, folks, is why I work at a library. Because I love it when people want to know about books, and I can give them what they want.
posted by Jess at 11:48 AM
3 Comments:
I loved Because of Winn-Dixie. And she wrote another one, right? Like about a tiger? But I'll see if I can get Despereaux on tape. I'd like that.
P.S. I'm liking "Gathering Blue" on tape right now.
I don't know you. You don't know me. But never have I been so impressed. Bravo.
Despereaux on tape is great, but you should also take a look at a copy of the book because there are great illustrations.
I just put the Tiger one on hold!
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