Downey Rotary tours new-look library

Rotary Club of Downey president Jesse Vargas, right, presents an $800 donation to Downey City Library director Ben Dickow. Rotary is a longtime supporter of the library and early childhood literacy.

DOWNEY — “One of the greatest gifts adults can give to their offspring and to their society is to read to children.” - Carl Sagan

Rotary Club of Downey’s President Jesse Vargas presented Downey City Library Director Ben Dickow with a donation to build the Children’s Book Collection.

Rotary encourages grown-ups to read to children.

“If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales,” Albert Einstein has been quoted as saying. “If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.”

Family read-aloud time is fun and promotes better reading skills, even with the littlest ones

The revamped Downey City Library can now be used as a gathering space and not only a quiet place. Director Ben encouraged Rotarians meeting in the glass-walled Cormack Room to enjoy their usual lively conversations there, along with their box lunches. Then there was a tour of the new layout of the library.

The Children’s Room is designed from a child’s perspective, and invites little ones to browse in low-slung curved bookcases, and small-sized tables and chairs There is a low raised platform in the middle of the room for performing stories from books.

Even small children will have much improved language skills if they are read aloud to, and if they are engaged with another person during reading time. They’ll learn to communicate with them about the story, rather than keep their thoughts to themselves. It’s a special time they’ll really treasure. As Dr. Seuss says, “You’re never too old, too wacky, too wild, to pick up a book and read to a child.”