Pope County Library System
RUSSELLVILLE
FAX 479-968-3222
116 East 3rd Street
Russellville, AR 72801
The most recent collaboration features popular Mo Willems Workshop character The Pigeon, who made the New York Times Best Seller list in September in The Pigeon Has to Go to School. Willems’ books featuring The Pigeon offer humorous stories that engage children’s attention; the simple, repetitive text is also easy for children to memorize, which is an early prereading skill.
The Pigeon visited library storytime in Dover, Hector, and Russellville to rave reviews. On Wednesday, newly hired Pope County Library staff members Emilee Whitbeck (Children’s Librarian) and Aysleth Stutts (Hispanic Services Clerk) presented a bilingual storytime featuring The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog/La Paloma Encuentra Un Perro Caliente, The Pigeon Will Ride the Rollercoaster, and perennial favorite Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus/ No Dejes Que la Paloma Conduzca el Autobus. Ms. Emilee said,“The Pigeon books are so fun to read on their own, but it’s an incredible experience to read them with The Pigeon himself! The kids were delighted to watch The Pigeon’s real-time reaction to the events happening in the books. It was a unique and exciting experience, so I am happy we were able to help provide that for them!”
Dog Ear Books welcomed The Pigeon at their weekly 11:00 am Preschool Storytime on Thursday. The children were excited to engage with The Pigeon in real life and gave him plenty of high fives and fist bumps. Pat Young said, “'We love partnering with the library because we both promote literacy and a love of reading. Sharing the costume characters means more children in our area are exposed to the joy of books and the characters really bring the stories to life!”
The Pigeon will close out his visit to Pope County with an appearance at the Atkins Centennial Library weekly storytime at 1:00 pm on Monday, October 14.
Dog Ear Books and the Pope County Library System have scheduled Laura Numeroff’s The Cookie Mouse to visit in early December and plan to bring more children’s book characters to Pope County quarterly in 2025.
