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Date: 9/30/2020
EAST LONGMEADOW – Ten-year-old Angela Penna created the Penna Library in her front yard for her neighbors on Bent Tree Drive.
“I was bored in quarantine,” said Angela. “We have a bunch of books that we don’t read because they’re little kid’s books and I know we have a lot of little kids that live in our street. I thought it would be a perfect idea to let them come and choose what they want to read.”
On Mondays and Wednesdays from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., Angela has a table and folding chairs set up in her front yard with the assistance of her mother Claudia.
She has over 100 books ranging from Dr. Seuss, Pete the Cat, the Treehouse books and various children’s authors, along with personalized library cards she designed. Anyone that takes out a book; Angela has a little form where she puts their name and age. Then, she stamps the date they took the book and the date the book is due.
Angela explained she likes to play with her neighbors and make movies on her iPad. She’s even written a series of stories, one being a scary chapter book and the other a children’s book called “Yes.”
“I love being with little kids,” Angela happily said. “I like being around them and I think they’re really funny too sometimes.” When she grows up, Angela said she wants be a teacher, writer and one day open up her own library.
“Angela loves to read and write,” Claudia, Angela’s mother, explained. “Her grandmother was reading to her since she was really little. Angela was reading before she started kindergarten and she’s always had a love for books.”
She continued, “Angela is always creating and super organized. When she comes up with an idea, she follows through on it. I think it’s wonderful and nice that the neighbors are very receptive to her idea. It’s been a good way for these children to interact and get to know each other.”
Angela also has a crafts table for preschool aged children as a way to get them engaged. Claudia jokingly said that getting three and four-year olds to sit down for any amount time is hard. Angela is offering fall- and Halloween-themed activities such as pumpkin decorating, painting faces and putting stickers on gourds and making monsters with little paper rolls.
Claudia mentioned that Angela is really limited to their street and a couple of small preschoolers on Timber Drive where she puts flyers in their families’ mailboxes.
Though she doesn’t have a huge crowd, Angela wants to make sure everyone is being socially distanced.
“I haven’t been getting too big of groups yet,” Angela replied. “Once I get at least two to three kids. I want to do a read out loud. I want to read some of my favorite books to them especially the ones with a lot of pictures in the books.”
As long as the weather permits Angela will continue to keep the Penna Library going through October and hopes to bring it back in the spring if children in her neighborhood are still interested.
“Reading is the most important skill for early elementary age children,” Claudia responded. “Children who read 20 minutes a day out of school tend to have excellent language skills and a better understanding of the world.”