I have a story to tell. It happened at PT city library.
One day we went in for storytime. Ms Jeanne Simmons was hosting it. She was going to tell a story about some baby mice and their mama mouse and a cat.
She didn’t have a book. (That was not surprising as she did that a lot.) She showed us how to do sign language gestures for mama, mouse, cat, say, run and so on. (That’s not unusual because she did that a lot.)
Then she told us the story, in the meantime, she also used sign language through the whole story. That was very impressive. It was about how baby mice were chased by a cat, and how mama mouse scared the cat away by “woofing” like a dog. When mama mouse showed her pride and told her children “It’s important to master a second language,” through Ms Jeanne’s perfect English and sign language, I thought, “Gracious, there is no better way to convey the moral of the story.”
I felt my kids are so lucky to have this librarian, as she is a real witch! Like the good witch Glinda in “The Wizard of Oz,” Ms Jeanne shows kids magic and kids can do the magic themselves and go far, even without the silver slippers on.
I am so sad Ms Jeanne is not working at the library any more. I am so sorry for the families whose kids wouldn’t have the chance to experience the joy, fun, grace, creativity, magic, and love Ms Jeanne used to bring to the library.
Hailian Zhou
Port Townsend