Perhaps life's greatest simple pleasure is reading to someone (or being read to).
As a Dad of two kids who love storytimes, I get to bask in these pleasurable moments on a daily basis. It's something that connects my kids to my childhood and to my parents' childhoods and so on. We all got read to, we all enjoyed those moments, and those moments were all basically the same for all of us.
This point was driven home for me when we took our youngest daughter to a school visit at Brattleboro Nursery School and got there in time to hear Mary Copans read a story to the kids there. Is there any better way to start a Monday than that?
Beginning this week, the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center launches a Thursday afternoon series of Children's Book Readings (and healthy snacks). From 4 to 4:45 p.m., volunteers will read books suited for children ages 5-9, most of which will be authored and illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg, whose work is featured in the museum's Activity Gallery.
I think it's a great way for the museum to link its exhibit to a wider (and younger) audience and to show people, once again, that a museum is more than just art on a wall, in the same way a library is more than books.
It also should be fun. The snacks are provided by the Brattleboro Food Co-op. and admission is free. For information, call 802-257-0124 or visit www.brattleboromuseum.org.