Who are they? Young Readers Special Guests

Young Readers is one of our drop in programs and it is run by special guests. These volunteers give their time and talents to share stories with our guests. We love them and wanted you to get a chance to get to know them better, so we sent them all an interview!

Our first guest in December is Carole Gajdosik. Carole is new to Virginia, having grown up in New York City before moving upstate where she lived for more than 30 years. She has a Master's Degree in Early Childhood Education, which she put to use teaching and eventually owning a private pre-school called The Sunshine School. Through her teaching, she became interested in children's literature, especially telling stories through using a flannel board. She says, "I very much enjoy seeing children become engaged in the wonderful fairy tales that have been entertaining children for generations." Her favorite story is Snow White and she also enjoys books about World War II Europe, British novels, and mysteries. She has fond memories of her grandmother reading to her from Grimm's Fairy Tales and she still enjoys love stories with happy endings!
Carole's next visit will be December 1 at 1:00.


Our second Young Readers guest is Trish Reed. Here's what she has to share.

I am Trish Reed, the Ready To Learn Coordinator for WHTJ, Charlottesville's Local Hometown PBS.  I taught kindergarten for thirty-three years in Richmond City and Chesterfield County.  During that time, the best part of the day was story time!  It was always fun to share an adventure, to laugh with funny characters, and to learn from a story.  Among of my favorite memories are reading a few chapters of a book each day and having the children plead to keep reading...even when it was time to go home!!  Some of my favorite chapter books to read to young children are Charlotte's Web, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and The Boxcar Children.  My favorite picture book is The Little Engine That Could. 

Trish's next visit will be December 13th at 10:30. 

Last but certainly not least, new this month, we are welcoming award-winning storyteller Anthony Burcher.  Anthony learned to appreciate storytelling form his father, who was a mechanic in York County, Virginia. Anthony says, "All his customers would get their car fixed, pay my dad and hear a story." Those are still his favorite stories, though he reads anything and everything he finds interesting. Anthony says that he likes telling stories to children because "children still love their imaginations and are much better at putting themselves into a story." He now lives at Makemie Wood Camp and Conference Center near Williamsburg, Virginia, where he enjoys spending time with his children, who aren't children anymore. He has two new books out, 101 Games that Teach Storytelling Skills  and A Very Virginia Christmas, a collection of stories that he contributed to. Find out more about Anthony at www.anthonyburcher.com.

 Anthony will be here on December 20th at 10:30