Will Hillenbrand - What a Treasure!

Will Hillenbrand was wonderful! As someone said to me, "Mr. Rogers in a suit jacket."
He arrived for his 6:30 PM program at 4:30 in the afternoon. As he set up, we talked. Anyone who came in he spoke with. He encouraged one of the Children's staff members, who is wonderfully artistic, to go to Marywood to sit on some of their classes.Will gave one-on-one art lessons and encouragement to a future book illustrator. She is only 8. He had the children entranced! We had 3 programs with a total of almost 300 adults and children and everyone left happy. We set up interactive learning stations in our lobby. We used under-the-bed storage bins for our sandboxes where children could dig for bugs. When not in use, we put the covers on. The children learned about the concepts of over, under, and through with our "mole house", tunnel, and balance beam. Our library was filled with little miners! How appropriate for our coal mining region.
Tell us about your experiences with Will Hillenbrand. What kind of programs and activites are your libraries creating? Send me your experiences and pictures.
Onto the Summer Reading Program!

What a treasure ! Will Hillenbrand and two of his friends.

Laureen M. Maloney
Head of Children's Services
Lackawanna County Children's Library
520 Vine Street
Scranton, PA. 18509
570-348-3000 ext. 3027
www.albright.org/childrens