Bruins PJ Story Night benefits book lovers, kids in need

Gianvanna Venne, with her mother Kayla Pallotto-Venne, and Callie Dennis, along with her grandmother Pamela Pierson, hand pajamas to Children’s Department Librarian Darcy Kane for the Boston Bruins PJ Drive.
Reminder Publishing photos by Sarah Heinonen

EAST LONGMEADOW — About 75 young children and their families gathered at the East Longmeadow Public Library on Feb. 18 to listen to stories, meet Springfield Thunderbirds mascot Boomer and help other children in need during the Boston Bruins PJ Story Night.

Braving frigid temperatures, bundled-up families excitedly made their way through the doors of the library doors and lined up at a table, where Children’s Department Librarian Darcy Kane collected pajamas for the Boston Bruins PJ Drive. More than 50 sets of pajamas were collected and, through the program, will be donated to the Springfield Area Office of the Department of Children and Families.

In exchange for each pajama donation, families received a ticket for a raffle to win four tickets to the Springfield Thunderbirds event, which also supports a Friends of East Longmeadow Library-sponsored event at the March 16 Thunderbirds game.

The main event was a story time in the community room, hosted by Meadow Brook Elementary School Librarian Celeste O’Brien.

“Mrs. O! Mrs. O!” chanted dozens of young children as they sat in rows on the carpeted floor. O’Brien read several picture books and stories for young children, including, “My Dad Is a Tree,” by Jon Agee, “Baby Squeaks,” by Anne Hunter and “Goodnight, Hockey Fans,” by Andrew Larsen. She sang the words to “Your Personal Penguin,” by Sandra Boynton and a song teaching children the right way to flip a page so it is not torn or bent.

Midway through the event, Boomer, a large blue bird in a Thunderbirds jersey, arrived and greeted the children before sitting next to O’Brien as she read another book. Later, the families took photos with the mascot.

Children were also able to guess how many candy hearts were in a jar on the table. Once contacted, the winner will take home a donut-shaped Squishmallow. In the activity room, children pasted “clothing” onto paper teddy bears.