OP_112719

4 | November 27, 2019 | the orland Park Prairie news
OPPrairiedaily.com
Library patrons build memories at Family Fort Night storytime
Laurie Fanelli
Freelance Reporter
Some things never go
out of style, and creating
one-of-a-kind forts out
of blankets has inspired
young architects for generations
On Thursday, Nov. 21,
the Orland Park Public
Library invited patrons to
take part in a Family Fort
Night during a “very special”
edition of its Night
Owls reading program —
a free 30-minute storytime
program offered weekly
at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday
nights — in conjunction
with the State of Illinois’
Family Reading Night.
“It’s Family Reading
Night, so people all over
Illinois are doing something
similar — getting together,
reading and sharing
space,” explained Vanessa
Fernandez, a Youth Services
reference librarian.
“In honor of that, we like
to do something a little different
than we usually do,
so we have the tents out.
We’ll do a regular 15-minute
storytime, and then
we’ll break off and we’ll
all do our own reading in
our own little corners.”
Fernandez and Darnetta
Bolton, another Youth Services
reference librarian,
chose the book “Pete the
Cat and His Four Groovy
Buttons” for its Family
Fort Night selection. To
add to the fun, they threw
around felt buttons and incorporated
sound effects
into the reading.
Following a brief singalong
and the “Pete the
Cat” reading, families
broke into groups, grabbed
a book and cozied up in
tents for the Fort Night
portion of the evening.
Some attendees brought
their own blankets to further
fortify the tents.
This is the second year
Orland Park resident Faris Amer reads to his sisters Malak (left) and Bayann on Thursday, Nov. 21, during a Family Fort Night Very Special Night
Owls storytime at the Orland Park Public Library. Photos by Laurie Fanelli/22nd Century Media
Kenan (left) and Meral Barakeh, of Orland Park, cozy up
in a tent to read.
the Orland Park Library
has hosted a Family Fort
Night Very Special Night
Owls, and staff cleared
up any confusion with the
event’s title — similar to
a popular video game —
during last year’s program.
“It was funny, because
last year we had a lot of
misinterpretations where
people came in wanting
to play ‘Fortnite,’” Fernandez
said with a laugh.
Darnetta Bolton, a Youth Services reference librarian, reads “Pete the Cat and His
Four Groovy Buttons” during the Very Special Night Owls: Family Fort Night.
“Building forts is such
a classic experience. It’s
such a fun thing to do, and
it’s something you don’t
get to normally do at the
library.”
Orland Park resident
Kristina Jakimova said she
always enjoys bringing
her kids, 6-year-old Filip
and 3-year-old Arianna to
Night Owls events at the
library.
“The kids love it,” Kristina
said. “I also like that
there are older kids here
who read to the smaller
kids.”
At the conclusion of
the program, attendees
received Family Reading
Night bookmarks, detailing
five ways to become
a great reader. Read every
day, read about things you
like and use your library
often were among the tips.
Bolton explained that library
staff members enjoy
Night Owls just as much
as the patrons.
“This is something that
helps make lasting family
memories and ties a
love of reading to something
special for the kids,”
Bolton said. “That’s why
we like it, too.”