Meet our friendly Librarian Amy
We had a chat with Amy to find out what she loves most about her job and the first author that sparked her interest in the world of books.
What is the best part of your job?
Leading Toddler Time at Sandringham and Hampton. The target group is 18 months – 3 years, but there’s such diversity in the way children can engage with the stories and songs within that small age span. It’s beautiful to witness, watching their facial expressions change while being read to or reaching a specific point in a well-known song or rhyme. Connecting through storytelling is such a valuable part of early literacy and children’s understanding of their greater world, so it makes me happy to be able to play a part in that for Bayside families.
What was your favourite book as a child?
My favourite picture book was The Giant Jam Sandwich, by John Vernon Lord and Janet Burroway. We also had a record of the book, and the narrator was fantastic. I remember laying on our loungeroom floor as a kid with my sister and listening to it. Years later, I found a CD of it in our local library and was delighted when my own kids loved listening to it, too.
If you had to eat one meal, every day for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Macaroni and cheese. It’s my comfort food of choice - I love to have it when I’m feeling sad, during some rare one-on-one time with my daughter, or when I don’t know what else to make for lunch on a weekend. My favourite recipe is one my best friend cooks. I don’t get to see her often, so it’s a treat when I do, and she makes it for me.
Who was the first author that sparked your interest in the world of books?
Beverly Cleary. I devoured the Ramona Quimby series and still have the copy of Ramona Quimby, Age 8, that I was given as a child. Ramona the Pest was the first book I laughed aloud to while reading to myself. I was shy as a kid, so I admired Ramona’s bold, imaginative nature. And her misadventures were always so brilliantly written and vivid.
