Story Time with Caryn Schafer, Union Avenue Books, Knoxville, August 2012
To continue yesterday’s theme: downtown Knoxville isn’t just for aging hipsters and college students. I sometimes hear people say, “I’d love to live downtown, but it’s not really a place to raise children.” Yes. It. Is. Not only are there many, many child-centered activities downtown, but there are great neighbors who will know your child and you.
Story Time with Caryn Schafer, Union Avenue Books, Knoxville, August 2012
In some ways living in this small city very much resembles the place many of us think we remember as a child: being surrounded by the village and they all knew your mother. Yes, it’s a city and that means there are all kinds of people, but compared to most neighborhoods in surrounding areas, it feels more like the spirit of a small town from years ago.
Story Time with Caryn Schafer, Union Avenue Books, Knoxville, August 2012
Yesterday we looked at the great monthly live program at WDVX (needs to be live every week) and today we’ll look at another regular event at Union Avenue Books: Children’s Storytime with Caryn Schafer. I walked straight from one into the other on Saturday and found lots of engaged, happy children and parents at each. Caryn debuted at Union Avenue Books with “The Incredible Book Eating Boy.” It was such a success, the store has set the next reading September 8 and plan to make it an every-other-week event.
Story Time with Caryn Schafer, Union Avenue Books, Knoxville, August 2012
Story Time with Caryn Schafer, Union Avenue Books, Knoxville, August 2012
It’s great to hear a very good children’s book read by a good reader and watch the spell-bound faces of the children. Caryn so obviously loves children’s books that her enthusiasm easily translates to the children. When children know you love what you are sharing with them they are prone to love it, too. Talk down to them or try to sell them tripe and they see through you in a New York minute. Caryn has a collection of over 700 children’s books, so she obviously has a passion for them. She’s taken her passion to a new blog, Three Books a Night, which focuses on the topic and includes reviews, suggestions and general discussion of children’s books.
Story Time with Caryn Schafer, Union Avenue Books, Knoxville, August 2012
A graphic designer by training, Caryn has dreams of publishing her own children’s illustrations and is drawn to the artistic work of other such as Oliver Jeffers, the author featured for her first reading. She also gave the children information about the author, including the fact that he eats his cereal dry. This resulted in the two snacks provided: cheerios and broccoli. Broccoli because eventually (spoiler alert!) the book eating boy takes to actually reading the books whilst eating broccoli. Hard choice, cheerios and broccoli. I’ll let you guess which got hit the hardest by the little tykes.
Story Time with Caryn Schafer, Union Avenue Books, Knoxville, August 2012
It’s worth a mention that the downtown branch of the public library, Lawson-McGhee, also has several storytimes for children during the week, including one in the evening, so children can definitely get their literary on downtown.
Jack Rentfro and Friends at Union Avenue Books, First Birthday, Knoxville, July 2012
A Book Store: the perfect place for dancing, Union Avenue Books, First Birthday, Knoxville, July 2012
While I’m on the topic of Union Ave. Books, I’ll wish them a late happy birthday. All the businesses in the Daylight Building have recently turned one-year-old. No mean feat in the business world these days. Modest celebrations marked the occasion, including an in-store concert from Jack Rentfro and an all-star lineup. Jack seems to be in a pitched battle with R.B. Morris for the title of “House Band” for the book store.
Birke Baeher signing books, Union Avenue Books, Knoxville, July 2012
Birke Baeher, Union Avenue Books, Knoxville, July 2012
I also recently dropped by for a book signing by thirteen-year-old author Birke Baehr who has written and published,Birke on the Farm which delves into the organic farming movement. Not bad: Children listening to books and children writing them. Is Union Avenue Books the nexus of Knoxville’s literary future. I wouldn’t bet against it. See, not only is this a good place for children, you are really harming your child if you don’t expose him or her to the great musical and literary ambiance of downtown Knoxville!
So, drop in and buy Birke’s book or any of the thousands of others in the store or drop in for the next children’s story time. And the next time somebody says downtown is no place for a child, now you can set them straight.
Thanks for introducing me to Caryn and her lovely blog. And, thanks to your blog, I have another place to take my granddaughter on Saturdays!
Downtown is absolutely a fantastic place to raise a child! Hayden just celebrated his eighth birthday (with a party at the downtown Regal Riviera – we always throw his parties somewhere downtown) and he has grown up here. It truly is wonderful – almost all of the downtown business owners know him and have watched him grow from an early age. We’ve never been at a loss for things to do – from story time to concerts to fountains and the playground at World’s Fair Park, art camp at KMA, movies, musicals and Wurlitzer concerts at the Tennessee, fireworks, festivals, riding bikes or sidewalk chalking the Square … His friends love coming downtown as well. And to top it all off, the school bus stops at our front door and takes him to Sequoyah Elementary, which is a fabulous school. Yes, sometimes he laments the lack of a treehouse but that’s what Grandma’s house is for!
I really enjoy your child-friendly downtown updates. This is a topic that is of great interest to me these days, since my husband and I are now expecting and we hope to remain in downtown with our little one.