Nancy Bronez of Vienna reads dog-themed books for last week’s stories, songs and sprinklers edition. Photo by Lisa Fay/The Connection
On a beautiful Wednesday morning, Nancy Bronez of Vienna set up in her usual spot under the shade of the giant tree behind the Freeman Store and Museum. “This is my third summer doing Stories, Songs and Sprinklers. The program has been going on longer than that, but I have been the storyteller for the past three years. I am a professional children’s librarian. I have been doing story times for children since 2005. They needed a new storyteller for this program, and a good friend of mine works at the Freeman Store and Museum and let me know, so I volunteered because I live in Vienna and I love Vienna,” said Bronez.
As Bronez read, the children were enraptured with her fantastic reading voice. Bronez read a few books, all dog themed, and sang a few songs with Sylvia Blah, member of Historic Vienna Inc, who provides the music for the sessions. “I like to do thematic stories, this week it was dogs because the dogs are coming next week,” said Bronez. “Part of my training as a professional children’s librarian is doing just that: choosing the right book for your audience. This age group is pretty broad from babies to 7 year olds. So first you have to figure out how old the kids are and then pick books that are age appropriate and fun.” After story time was over, the Town of Vienna hooked up fun sprinklers shaped beach balls and unicorns. Children ran around and waded in the kiddie pools as parents looked on. The last Stories, Songs and Sprinklers will take place on Wednesday, July 31 at 1 p.m. on the Town Green.