My Experience at The Brooklyn Book Bodega

Make it nd out

When I first walked into The Brooklyn Book Bodega, I felt very welcomed. My daughter, Taiming, and I were greeted by a team of volunteers at the bodega who helped us to check in. I took a survey about what I was expecting to get out of the program and then we got name tags. From there, we walked into a room with more people. A volunteer motioned towards breakfast and seats. We settled in and then went to grab some food. There were croissants, fruits, and juices set out. There were about 15-20 other parents all with their children. I did not feel alone in this experience. Especially after my younger sister arrived with her son.

The volunteers were friendly. We did an activity where we made a butterfly puppet, based on a book which was read to us by one of the conductors there. She had a theater-like voice, very entertaining for the children. I thought maybe I could try reading to Ming at home like that. As the woman read, she also went around the room showing the book to the kids, kind of reeling them into the story. She even showed the book to my baby nephew, who was still in his stroller, I appreciated that.  

The Brooklyn Book Bodega is there to help children build libraries at home. One of the reasons I am going there is to build a library for Ming. She likes books and I’m sure by expanding her vocabulary I am brightening her future, encouraging her to talk more. I’m also interested in learning new parenting skills. I learned how to make a book come to life that day after listening to the conductor read and seeing how she was able to make art out of the characters.

Everything about the Brooklyn Book Bodega was a good experience although, I think the best part was picking out the books. The tall bookshelves stood out to me, filled with books for the children to grab. Taiming was responsible for most of the picking. I had fun watching her run around picking up books. She was picking up new materials and passing them to me for me to hold. I feel like she was going for the books with the colors as she was saying, “Mommy look!” We had a lot of fun, I had to pick her up to reach some of the books on the higher shelves.

I appreciate what the Brooklyn Book Bodega is doing for me and my family. Both me and my sister are excited to build libraries at home for our children. In the end the kids had new art and new books to take home with them.