By Madison Butkus
Hometown Weekly Reporter
The Dover Town Library (DTL) proudly welcomed back storyteller Davis Bates this past Wednesday, August 9th. Little ones packed the Community Room to enjoy a participatory event of songs and stories that celebrated the 2023 Summer Program Reading Theme.
All in attendance were completely entranced by Bates as he always was able to get the crowd involved throughout his show. For his performance, he brought an array of different instruments that accompanied him when playing songs.
Some of these instruments included jingle bells, a rainstick, and even spoons! Bates joked around saying that these spoons were incredibly rare and could not be found anywhere, especially in your house. The little ones obviously rebutted stating, “Hey! I have those in my house!”
After demonstrating what each instrument sounded like, Bates had the perfect song to accompany it. For the spoons, we all sang “Working on the Railroad,” and for the jingle bells, we all sang, ofcourse, “Jingle Bells.”
When stating that we were going to sing this song, many of the little ones pointed out that it was still summer time outside. To this, Bates explained, “Did you know that if you sing a song about wintertime in the summer, it makes you cooler?” Ironically enough, a bunch of the kiddos did mention that they felt cooler after singing.
While Bates' entire singing performance was spectacular, the thing that stood out the most was his storytelling. Making connections with the kids came super easy to him as he shared a couple of stories about his own childhood.
He even mentioned a personal story about him getting over his fear of thunderstorms. One night when Bates was little, he was away at his family’s cottage in the Cape with his grandparents. There happened to be a really bad thunderstorm that prompted him to wake them up, looking for help. When doing so, his grandmother said sometimes it helps to sit on the lap of someone who isn’t scared in order to make you feel better.
Upon doing so, he also held his grandfather’s hand and watched the lighting strike the lake that was just outside the house. After a while, he forgot about the thunder and eventually saw the sun rise and a double rainbow appear.
His grandmother then told him that while she won’t always be there to comfort him, any time there is a storm he should find a comfy chair and picture what had just happened. This was his advice to the little ones, that things that seem scary can always be comforted.
Overall, everyone in attendance had the best time with Bates. We all hope he returns once again to Dover sometime soon!
For more information about events like these at the Dover Town Library, please visit their website at www.dovertownlibrary.org.
