Story Time at Morton Library

Today we welcome our first guest blogger, Jenny Csinos, Union-PSCE M.A.C.E. student :

Everyone loves a good story, especially children. When I was young, I loved reading and hearing Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, looking at picture Bibles, and hearing the melodious rhymes of the Jillian Jiggs books. Yes, storybooks can be a wonderful way for parents to connect with children, for young people to be spiritually nurtured, and for Christian educators to connect faith and life. But some books can be quite expensive - especially when you're on a tight CE budget - and it can be hard to decide which books to purchase. If only there was a library with a good collection of children's books that are especially helpful for religious educators and parents who wish to nurture their children's faith.

Well, look no further. The Morton library has a top-notch collection of children's books that will illuminate the mind, dazzle the imagination, and nourish the spirit. This collection includes a wide variety of stories from several authors; stories like Dr. Seuss' classic rhyming tales, Sandy Sasso's marvelous books that encourage children to wonder about God and Nancy Tillman's stories that remind children that they are loved. Union-PSCE's own Karen-Marie Yust writes that there are four different types of faith storybooks: those that attempt to remain similar to biblical translations, those that tell stories about the stories in the Bible, those that connect human stories to biblical stories or messages and those that speak of biblical principles (Real Kids, Real Faith, 49). The library's collection has got all these kinds of stories! Why not stop by the children's collection on the second floor of the library and take home some books for those in your life who are young, or those who are, like me, young at heart. And for some assistance in selecting and using these storybooks, check out one of Union-PSCE's newest resources - Children's Literature: A Resource for Ministry (http://storypath.wordpress.com).

Jenny