New York Wanderings, Part I: A Unique Children's Library and a Book for Groundhog Day

I'm having a lovely visit in New York with my little grandsons.  Yesterday my daughter and I took them to an adorable children's library.  The unique thing about this library is that the whole building is dedicated solely to children's books!

And a unique thing about the building itself is that it was built in 1869 and used to be a private home.

Not only that, but it was the city of  New Rochelle's first brick building. You can read more about it's history and how it came to be a children's library in 1997, here.

This little "Huguenot Children's Library" was a perfect outing for my grandsons. The eight-month old slept, while the three-year-old explored...

Not only were there wonderful picture books downstairs, but also a train table, puzzle area, wooden doll house, and computer area - all of which my three-year-old grandson enjoyed immensely!

At one end of the big room downstairs, a colorful tiled wall mural not only encourages kids to "READ", but leads them upstairs to the chapter books for older kids...

Now, on to the cute picture book we found for Groundhog Day: Gregory's Shadow by Don Freeman...

Gregory is a shy groundhog, so having his friend Shadow close by makes him feel brave.

But one day Gregory and Shadow go outside to look for food, and they get separated.

Scared and lonely, they search and search for one another.

To make matters worse, tomorrow is Groundhog Day, and everyone will be waiting to see if Gregory and his shadow leave their home together.

You'll have to find the book at your local library to find out how they reunite, and to find out whether Gregory's shadow joins him on Groundhog Day.

Note: When Gregory is searching for Shadow, he thinks he sees a ghost.  If you're leery of ghosts being frightening for young children, you can easily leave out the word "ghost" and replace it with "a dark blue shape", etc.  (The "ghost" ends up being Shadow).