By Chris Frost
EAGLE TIMES NEWS EDITOR
CLAREMONT, N.H. — Elks Lodge #879 brought back its Storytime for Young Children, cheering a crowd of parents, grandparents and kids who stopped by for the books, snacks and camaraderie on Sunday. The event featured 100 kid titles and the children left with books after the stories were told, in keeping with the Elks’s values of “neighbors coming together, families sharing meals and children growing up.”
Elks Member Tina Bergeron read to the kids and said her son Jevin usually picks three books to read. He wanted to start with “Peppa Pig” and “Pete the Cat.”
“I like ‘Pete the Cat’ because it’s not too long,” Jevin said.
The kids enjoyed “Peppa’s Pizza Party,” followed by “How Do Dinosaurs Sing at Night” and “Giraffes Can’t Dance.” Tina loves seeing the kids getting new books. “We go to the Library all the time,” she said. “ ‘Pete the Cat’ is a favorite.”
She said the Claremont Elks buy the books through its Elks National Foundation Grant. “Elks Care. Elks Share,” she said. That’s our motto.”
Erica Dearborn, Ricky Brue Jr. and their son Rick III just moved to Claremont from Laconia and wanted their son to have a nice afternoon with other kids. “We decided to come here and check out Storytime and see what it’s about,” Dearborn said. “My Mom used to read to me all the time. We used to bring my nephew to a similar book reading in Laconia. ‘The Ugly Duckling’ was my favorite book.”
Ricky Jr. said he didn’t read much as a child but some books impressed him. “The Dr. Seuss books were always my favorite,” he said.
Dylan Laraway, his son Asher, and mom Samantha Fortier settled in for a fun Storytime “I loved Green Eggs and Ham,” Dylan said. “That’s a classic.”
The Claremont Elks Lodge #879 is located at 54 Summer Street.
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