Pioneer Library System

The Norman Public Library will present a Read and Ride story time on the first Saturday of every month. The next story time will be Saturday, December 5, at 11 a.m., with stories, songs, and activities on a Wintertime theme. This time, however, the number of story time riders will be limited and registration is required.

To register, call 701-2630, visit the library, or take advantage of the online registration option through the PLS Virtual Library. To register online, click the following link http://www.justsoyouknow.us/normankidevents and go to December on the calendar. Click on the underlined event title and follow the onscreen instructions for registration. Regular bus fares apply even for story time riders: 50 cents for adults; 25 cents for children 6-17; children under six ride free.

On November 7, Cleveland Area Rapid Transit, CART, and the Norman Public Library offered a children’s story time on the CART bus that stops at the library, 225. N. Webster in downtown Norman. When more than 50 children and adults showed up for the event—more than could fit on the bus—transportation and library officials knew they were on to something.

To accommodate the crowd, storyteller Charlotte Gordon stayed on the bus for two complete circuits of the Main Street route, telling stories, singing songs, and leading activities for an appreciative and enthusiastic audience that changed with each stop along the way. Even regular riders joined in the fun.

 “Originally, we planned to get off the bus when it reached the Main and Webster bus stop, after about a 45-minute ride,” said Gordon, “but we were having so much fun that we stayed on the bus for the entire hour-long loop that took us back to the library where we started.

“There were still about 20 people waiting at the library bus stop, so the first group got off, the second group got on, and we did the whole thing again,” Gordon said.

“We were hoping for a good response to the Read and Ride story time idea, so we put one of our biggest buses on the route that day,” said Kris Glenn, spokesperson for CART. “But even that bus was not big enough. Charlotte was a real trouper to do the story time twice so no one would be disappointed.”

“If we limit the number of story time riders to 20 adults and children, there will still be room for the regular riders and we will have lots of room to do the gestures for the YMCA song when the bus passes the Y,” Gordon said.