‘Goosebumps’ the ghoulish theme at Turlock Library
Going green often means going the extra mile for the environment. In a way, the sticky, green, slimy, monster blood coloring hands and coating fingers at the Turlock Library met that test.
“Basically, the point is to do something fun, and I thought, why not? We don’t do messy that often,” said Michelle Coxford, regional children’s librarian.
In other words, the library went the extra mile for a kid-friendly environment. Each Tuesday afternoon at 4 p.m., Coxford rolls out a fun activity tied to children’s literature – except for the last Tuesday of the month, which is Legos play. The first Tuesday is a STEAM activity, which stands for science, technology, engineering, arts and math.
“They have wonderful activities here,” one woman said as her grandson described the flying monster he had just made. It had a sponge body, pumpkin-seed teeth, roly-poly eyes and pipe cleaner weaponry.
“It has glowing eyes, but it can’t walk,” explained Robert Dini, 8, holding the awesomely altered sponge aloft. His favorite “Goosebumps” book, appropriately enough, is “It Came From Beneath the Sink!”
Halloween themes set the tone for October, with Origami Monster Bookmarks on Oct. 20. “Get Goosebumps” was the title for Tuesday, with sponge monster fixings on one table and monster blood on the other.
Coxford parceled out glue, liquid starch and food coloring to kids and parents in a messy celebration of the popular, spook-themed children’s series.
Family teams stirred the “blood” into goop. Goop got pulled and pummeled into stringy blobs stretched between monsterish green fingers.
Despite a wide cloth spread out to catch the drips, one excited youngster managed to hit the carpet and his younger brother promptly jumped on the glop – a “Goosebumps”-worthy plot twist by two roguish characters.
Coxford shrugged her shoulders. “We’ll clean it up,” she said, looking around at the green-fingered families with a grin.
Nan Austin: 209-578-2339, @NanAustin
COMING UP
Tuesdays at 4 p.m. there are children’s activities at the Turlock Library, 550 N. Minaret Ave. The event and parking are free. Children 4 and under must be supervised by a parent.
OCT. 20: Origami Monster Bookmarks – Children can make a bookmark that “eats” the corners of their book.
OCT. 27: Lego Day – Children can build Lego displays for the library, an engineering and arts activity that develops motor skills.
NOV. 3: “Three Little Pigs” – Children will listen to a reading of the classic tale, then make miniature houses and try to blow them down or knock them over with ping-pong balls.
This story was originally published October 14, 2015 at 11:25 PM with the headline "‘Goosebumps’ the ghoulish theme at Turlock Library."