A rainy Monday was brightened considerably when a young blond tot named Finn came into the store by himself. Rest assured his grandma was waiting just outside the door for him. What had caused young Finn to venture to the register alone? Quite simply, he wanted to hand JP an invitation to his third birthday.
JP is our storyteller and Finn has been coming to her weekly reads for months now, and the two of them have created a very lovely bond. When Finn approached the register my co-worker and I both asked if he needed any help – after all, it’s not every day an almost-three-year-old comes in unaccompanied. He said in a bright voice, “I want to invite JP to my birthday party.” I just about died of cuteness. It was a little heartbreaking to have to tell him JP wasn’t working.
I told him I would put the invitation in JP’s mailbox. Finn asked to see the mailbox to make sure I had put the invitation where it belonged. Then his eyes roamed around the books that make up the back room and he was silent. I’ll admit, it can be a lot to take in.
This encounter brought home the power of story hour. Reading to children creates a bond that is irreplaceable. While Finn might know me enough to say hello, I did not get a hand-colored birthday invitation.  JP’s story hours are fun, personal and she knows each child well enough to pick out books she thinks they’ll really love. Finn just loves JP and he wants her to be part of his life, all because they’ve shared stories together.
Maybe we’ll add another day of story hours, and I can read. There’s nothing like a three-year-old’s birthday party to keep a bookseller young.