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River Grove librarian loves working with children
Dayna Tucker Children's Librarian head of the Youth Service Department at the River Grove Public Library Wednesday Dec. 19, 2012 | James C. Svehla~for Sun-Times Media
Updated: January 28, 2013 2:52PM
RIVER GROVE — Turning a book into more of an interactive learning experience has been Dayna Tucker’s passion for the past 10 years.
Tucker is head of River Grove Public Library’s Youth Services and oversees the children’s section of the library. She received her degree in education at Concordia University and although she has taught in the classroom, she has found working at the library an even better and more creative way to stimulate young minds.
“I can do my teaching, yet I get to do something extra,” she said.
As head of youth services at the library she plans Evening Tales, a variety of youth reading activities (one for children ages 2 to 4, another for ages 5 through 8). She said her activities usually consist of the group reading together, keying in on the message the story conveyed and then doing something creative.
She said over the past 10 years she’s been on the job she’s come up with some fun activities. It usually involves doing a craft or creative project that relates to what they read.
“We do a story and then a craft that is all theme-based,” she said.
“Last year we learned about an author and read the books the author wrote,” he said. “Then they wrote their own book and we picked a winner and got the book published.”
“I bring a lot of my teaching skills,” she said. “I make it a little bit more educational and more fun.”
Q: So when you are not working what do you like to do for fun?
A: “I like to play Scrabble and other board games. I’m definitely a kid at heart.”
Q: What do you like about your job?
A: “I like working with the groups of children. It’s all the fun of doing it without grading homework at the end of the day.”
Q: What do you like most about Christmas?
A: “Spending it with my family, especially with my kids and watching them open their presents.”
Q: What’s your favorite book?
A: “The Harry Potter series. It just caught me. It just pulled me in, everything that Harry Potter had to face. It’s a very very wonderful book.”
