Last month, I had the honor and pleasure of getting invited by the Free Library of Philadelphia to visit local branches and schools to do readings and crafts. It was amazing. These kids were amazing. (Handing out markers and paper)"Alright, everyone choose a shape for your creature and—”(Turn around and all the kids are already making their 2nd, 3rd incredible original characters)
You want to have a great conversation? Talk to librarians. The ones in Philly are a goddang delight, and they work so hard to make these spaces live. And should be paid accordingly. Speaking of librarians, the American Library Association’s conference was in town this summer, so I finally got to meet a number of folks in person: Betsy Bird, the author of Pop Goes the Nursery Rhyme, the host of Fuse 8 n’ Kate podcast, and a natural with a Secretary Bird puppet:
It was just so nice to be able to see Joanne from JaZams again, or to run into librarians who I’ve talked to online but haven’t met in person before (bless the folks who brought Accident! to sign) and to meet new folks.
I can’t think of a clever segue from talking about kids to “kids” (eh?) but if you were at any of those library visits or the conference, there’s a good chance I went off about one of our best local gems: the Philly Goat Project. Goats! Goats for the greater good!Located at the Farm at Awbury Arboretum, PGP does school programming, grief walks, special education programs, community goat walks, and private goat visits, among other things. There’s a goat escape artist, Bebito, who we first met when he slipped his leash to go grab more leaves and sticks with his face.
Way back in 2020, their director, Karen Krivit, was nice enough to let me take photos of the herd for reference for I’m On It!
Well, apparently not enough folks know about them, or about the farm at Awbury, where Philly folks can visit chickens, goats, bees, and community garden, so they needed a sign . . .
Seriously, check them out.