The local post master, a pastor, a pediatric dentist, a school principal, someone from the local sanitation department, and a school librarian are other community heroes she hopes to invite to the story time.
“Kids see them every day, and [they] become more empathetic to who’s in their community, who keeps their community moving,” Hopkins said. “If we didn’t have the postmaster to come and help regulate what’s going on with the mail, or the sanitation department, then our community is not going to work as good as it should. It helps kids to see that there’s different people, that we all play a role and we all have to work together.”
Last week’s community hero was local children’s author Alisia Keeling. She read her debut book, “My Little Family: Mommy Chose Me,” which is inspired by her daughter.
Because Keeling chose to have a child on her own through IVF, she created the book as a way for her daughter to feel confident about her family.
“I really started this out because I was trying to prepare her for going to school, being able to talk about her family and feel confident in her family,” Keeling said. “So that’s how it all started. It was a home book at first, until a friend convinced me to self publish it.”
Keeling said she had been looking for ways to promote her book, and Hopkins suggested sharing it during a storytime.
At first, Keeling said she was nervous to share such a personal story, but overall, she enjoyed the storytime event and she would definitely do it again.
Chloe Punsalan and Anne Gadson have been bringing their children to Jungle Jamz for the weekly story times ever since it opened.
Gadson said she enjoys the community hero storytimes because her son gets exposed to different occupations, can ask questions, and meet different adults.
Pusalan agreed with those remarks, adding that the storytime events, in general, have created a safe space where she can connect with other mothers.
Overall, Hopkins said the community heroes storytime events have been a hit.
“Everybody loves it, and even the people that come, they just love interacting with the kids,” she said. “Because, especially if you’re doing a job where you’re not around a bunch of 2, 3, 4 year olds, it’s like, their energy, it’s just fun. The kids love to touch and ask questions and just see what they do.”
