Author Rosemary Wells made a lot of people feel good about themselves at the Staten Island Historical Society Literacy Leadership luncheon at the Excelsior Grand, New Dorp.
The creator of beloved characters such as sibling bunnies Max and Ruby stressed the importance of reading to children every day and praised the people who help make that possible.
“Without teachers and librarians, our world as writers would be very small. Because of you, the world of ideas is open to all children,” she said. The author of some 60 books lauded the society’s honoree, Robert (Bobaloo) Basey, for his work as a storyteller.
“When you go around to schools and libraries, you are a living book and that is a wonderful life to live,” she said.
Telling a story about building bridges, and performing his own exit music on a flute, Basey, a teaching artist and Stapleton native, expressed his gratitude for “getting a boost to hang in there. It’s a challenge with arts funding being cut.”
A major Max and Ruby fan, Robyn Busan, 7, was there to meet Ms. Wells. She is also a child who is being given, in Ms. Wells’ words, the “gift of thought and language” by being read to.
“I like that he [Max] doesn’t really talk much,” said the first-grader at PS 65.
“And he doesn’t listen,” said her father, Robert, who was obviously benefiting from the daily reading sessions he and his wife share with their daughter.
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