March 6, 2015 at 3:07 p.m.
Dr. Seuss' birthday bash draws huge crowd to the library
Dr. Seuss' birthday bash draws huge crowd to the library
By Kayla Thomason-
Musician David Dall dressed in Dr. Seuss slippers and the iconic red-and-white-striped hat, entertained the children with several interactive songs from "The ABCs" to a song he wrote entitled "There's a Clown in My Class."
Dall has been performing at the Dr. Seuss Birthday Bash since the first year.
"We've had Mr. Dall for a long time as he is very popular," said Tom Hurlburt, children's librarian at the Rhinelander District Library. "We've been sticking with what's working. He does an excellent job."
Hurlburt's favorite Seuss book is "The Lorax" because "it's humorously entertaining and it has an environmental message that was written well before there were a lot of people thinking that way."
The birthday party was split into two separate groups to accommodate the number of children who wanted to attend. Prizes such as Dr. Seuss books, cars, plushies and more were handed out.
The first party had a full house of 75 children while the second drew 65.
"The first one is always sold out because people want to get their kids to bed in time," Hurlburt said.
The library usually has five or six tickets left after the second session. Children and adults alike enjoyed the party.
Karl Welch and his 2-year-old daughter Isabel enjoyed the birthday party. She won a plushie Lorax.
"We've been having a good time," Welch said. "We just appreciate the Friends of the
Library for providing the snacks and the gifts and things for the raffles," he added. "It's a really good event."
This was not only the first Dr. Seuss Birthday Bash for Jenny Bonardelli and her son, Henry, it was their first joint library activity.
"This is our first time attending a library event," she said. "(Henry is) four (years old) and he stays at home, so it's nice to get him out and see other little people."
Henry won "The Foot Book" character plushie. His favorite Dr. Seuss book is "Hop on Pop," he said.
Kristi Thoreson and her two daughters, Khloe, 5, and Claire, 4, have attended the birthday party about three times.
"They love it," Thoreson said. "It's always fun when Mr. Dall plays and they love coming to the library so having a party at the library is a bonus."
Khloe was very excited for the birthday bash.
"I love it, I've been waiting for it all year long," she said.
She loves when Dall sings the ABCs and is also a big fan of Dr. Seuss.
"I like all of (the Dr. Seuss books)," Khloe said. "All of them are funny."
Dr. Seuss' books are adored by people of all ages, Dall included.
"It's been one of the most exciting days of the year for me, celebrating the man who would have been 111 (years old)," Dall said. "I like to think of myself as a very creative person - hence the faces on my guitars - but of course there was no one more creative as far as teaching kids how to read - I don't feel - than Dr. Seuss. He sparked up the imagination in all of us and encouraged everyone to learn how to read in a way that we really didn't really realize we were learning how to read."
Dall's favorite Seuss books are "Cat in the Hat," "The Hair Book," "Wacky Wednesday" and "Hop on Pop."
"As adults it's neat because when we read these books as adults we kind of get pulled right back into the childhood of it all and enjoy the whole thing all over again," Dall said.
Kayla Breese may be reached at [email protected].
Comments:
You must login to comment.