Story Time With Mr. Limata

 Peter Limata is a first grade teacher from Lusaka, Zambia. He teaches at Emerson Elementary School in Oakland, Ca. He has a great love for children’s books and is very committed to his students. He often pays for school supplies out of his own pocket and helps disadvantaged families get access to computers for distant learning. 

During quarantine, Mr. Limata has been helping students cope with the new change by doing a virtual story time.  This takes place on Facebook Live every weekday at 10:30 am. His animated personality and interesting choice of stories has helped keep students engaged in story time. Students also look forward to getting their personal “shot out” as they tune in.

In May of 2020, Mr. Limata and Emerson Elementary School received a big surprise. They were rewarded  $25,000 from The Ellen Show in partnership with Box  Top for education. His dedication and hard work has definitely paid off. Thank you to Mr. Limata and all teachers. We appreciate all that you do.

San Francisco Introduces Public Library To Go Program

On Monday, August 10, 2020 the Main Library in San Francisco, Ca launched its SFPL To Go program. This program allows library customers the option to pick up reading materials at the front door. The Excelsior location launched this program August 11, 2020 amd more locations are expected to participate within the next couple of weeks. Social distancing and masks will be required to ensure the safety of the public.

 This program will help children have access to books for distant learning. Its great to see public libraries doing what they can to provide service to their customers during these times. As the new school year approaches, children need as many resources available as possible. Thanks to Mayor London Breed for helping to make this happen!

The Adventures of Paris and Cali

 The Adventures of Paris and Cali is a series of children’s books written by Veronica Pittman and illustrated by her 14 year old daughter Paris Williams. The series is inspired by her two daughters and every day experiences that they go through. 

New experiences can be a little stressful for children. They often feel nervous because they don’t know what to expect. Especially when they are starting a new grade at school. Several questions cross their minds? Will they make friends? Will they like their teacher? Stay tuned to find out how Paris and Cali handle their new experience. The Adventures of Paris and Cali: Volume 1: The First Day of School will be available in January of 2021. Check back soon for more updates.

Keeping Mom and Pop Book Stores Alive

J Crawford’s Books is a family owned book store in Sacramento, Ca that specializes in selling new and used books. It is a great place for book lovers to find all types of genres from children’s books to classics. It has been around since 1983 and was originally owned by Jim and Joyce Crawford. In 2018 Sue and Craig became the new owners.

This book store is important to the community because it provides reading materials to local children at a discounted price. With the rise of Amazon and other retail-chain book stores, it is important to not forget about our mom and pop stores. These people invest so much time and effort into providing products and services to their communities.  They are often overshadowed and forgotten about because of bigger companies. Some end up closing down due to high rent and low sales.

On a good note, there are lots of mom and pop stores that have loyal customers and are able to maintain business. So the next time you think about purchasing a book online, call your local mom and pop bookstore and see if they have it available. I’m sure they would appreciate it.