To fall in love with a Book
Is to stroke its spine, with a finger lighter than laughter.
Is to cling to each letter, with a grip tighter than memory.
Is to siphon the ink on a page, into the veins of your soul
Is to hover over semi-colons, and taste the depth of each full stop….
A Library is what one makes of it. Few weeks ago, in our fortnightly MOP meeting, we had a short discussion on Book Displays and the need to create a display keeping the readers interests and the audience in mind, and not just one’s own interest. The challenge is to create an opening to draw EVERYONE in.
The team at Bookworm is varied in every sense of the word. We span age groups, gender (to a certain extent!), states and languages. We trip over each other’s opinions and gaze in bafflement at one another’s interests. Keeping this Team in mind and much thought and discussion later, Shraddha suggested we open up the theme of LOVE as a book display. A short brainstorming session with Sujata later (and with ideas pouring in!), we started preparing for the display. Our first step was to start our book collection. This being the backbone, centerpiece & structure of our display, we took our time to browse through the shelves, searching and uncovering these books. While reading through these books, we came across some of the most precious and tender love stories that grace our children’s collection.
Butterfly Lion by Michael Morpurgo, illustrated by Christian Birmingham, was my favourite among these. It talks about a pure unconditional love between two characters in the book. There is something about the book that bypasses all cynicism to touch the deepest darkest space in you, with a light that spreads wide. The book is simple but profound.
The Day I Became a Bird by Ingrid Chabbert, illustrated by Guridi, is the first book that came to mind when we thought of the love themed book display. This book is a tender love story of a boy who falls in love with a girl in his class and sets off to woo her. Told in a few words, and a few black and white sketches, the book portrays a love that makes you believe in it!
Frog in Love by Max Velthuijs is a small pocket sized love story about a frog who falls in love with….well you will have to read the book to find out! Short, Sweet, and to the heart, this book explores a love that spans all dimensions.
Once all such books were gathered together, we wrapped some of them in brown paper and stuck enticing messages on them, to form our collection of candidates to go on a blind date with!
Little notes were rolled up and hung from a notice board, for participants to write their love letters to their favourite characters, and two weeks later we opened up our display with a short activity.
The display strewn with rose petals, lighted candle, bottle of wine and overflowing chocolates, was enough to put everyone into a smiling, laughing mood.
A bottle of notes was passed around the circle, stopping when the music stopped and a few triggering questions on these notes opened up the group to the main theme. We learnt about the qualities that Lalita would look for in a loved one, Sagar’s favourite love story (his own!), and a character from a Book whom Vandana wouldn’t mind marrying (Ferdinand).
We plan to close our display two weeks later, with everyone sharing something about a love themed book that they had (hopefully!) read. While it is a display that has begun in full spirit and with a lot of collaboration and enthusiasm, the main reason why it might have worked is that it appealed to everyone and everyone was ‘wooed’ over!
We hope that everyone will fall in love with at least one of these books, during the course of this display. A relationship with a book is a love that lasts.
…..To fall in love with a book
Is to lose yourself in words
That entangle through your mind
to land softly in that space between Now and Forever.
