Veteran storyteller Nicolette Petrone proves storytime offers so much more than hearing a well-told tale
Photos by Robert Muller
By Lyndsey Brennan
It’s a seemingly unimportant Thursday morning at Shaker Main Library.
Ten tiny pairs of feet troop up the spiral staircase and through the door of the storytime room, followed by their caregivers. Sunlight streams through the windows.
The sound of a flute comes through the speakers. Strollers find parking in the back of the room.
As the families get settled in chairs and on cushions, the kids are lively, and the adults are in good spirits. There’s an excited buzz in the room that tells me, “We’re about to have fun.”
Veteran Shaker Library employee Nicolette Petrone stands at the front of the room and introduces herself as Ms. Nicki. For the next twenty minutes, she bewitches everyone with her warm Miss-Honey-from-Matilda energy and melodic voice.
She moves from book to puppet to story to song without missing a beat. First, she’s bouncing and dipping a rabbit puppet called Snowball the Bunny. Next, she’s pulling plastic spiders and soft caterpillars out of a bag, smiling as the children inch closer for a better look.
She’s lifting flaps in a book. She’s casually inserting the names of all the children present into her storytime monologue. Then, she picks up her ukulele.
When she sings, “Now you’re a monkey! Wave your arms,” each parent, grandparent, and caregiver obediently lifts their arms and waves them in time with the music. Some of the toddlers join in too, while the younger ones sit with mouths agape and wide, watching eyes. Even a tattooed dad trying to lounge coolly toward the back of the room leans forward, finds his arms, and shakes them.
It’s powerful when you realize what an impact storytime is having, even outside of the library setting.
Everyone is under her spell now. This is the power of a veteran storyteller.
Throughout the storytime, attendees giggle, sing, and clap delightedly. They follow instructions to jump and spin and wiggle and watch. As she wraps up the session, the kids come forward to say goodbye to Snowball. Petrone makes time for each of them, bending to their level for a hug or high five. She rushes no one.
Once the room has emptied, I confess I’m envious of how engaging she was. I can hardly keep one toddler occupied for twenty minutes, let alone ten.
She humbly brushes my compliment aside, saying, “It’s not always like that. I can’t say the whole group is 100% engaged every time.”
“That’s why I have so much variety,” she adds. “I go from one thing to the next pretty quickly, because I won’t keep their attention otherwise.”
The Art – and Science – of Storytelling
“Developing a storytime flow is an art that can take librarians years to master,” says Shaker Library Deputy Director Maureen Brodar, who has worked with Petrone for 20 years – first as a colleague, and then as her supervisor.
“Everyone has their own style and cadence. I would say the hallmark of a Ms. Nicki storytime is her kindness and ability to put everyone at ease. Part of that is the time she takes to learn everyone’s names. Part of that is the soft voice she uses.
“And then there’s her puppet, Snowball,” Brodar continues. “The way that she brings Snowball to life – the way that she has it interact with the kids – you start to believe that Snowball’s a living creature. And if that helps them form a connection to literacy or the library, that’s a good thing.”
While Petrone agrees that running storytime is an art, much of her planning is informed by science.
“We build all sorts of pre-reading skills into our routines. For instance, using puppets and encouraging the child to follow it with their eye. That’s a pre-reading skill called tracking. Exposing them to a variety of sounds and words. Showing them how to hold a book and turn pages. We’re always subtly incorporating these sneaky skills in. There are some librarians who will tell the parents exactly what they’re doing as they’re doing it, and I will occasionally – but for me, it’s the modeling that’s important,” Petrone says.
Much of what Petrone does in storytime can be replicated by the parents at home. “I begin every storytime with a rhyme called Bunny Bunny Bunny. I can’t tell you how many times parents will say, ‘My kids started doing Bunny Bunny Bunny at home.’”
“Once, at the Farmer’s Market, I ran into a parent whose child was fussy. She said to me, ‘One of the only things that calms him is Bunny Bunny Bunny. So I recorded myself singing it to play anytime the grandparents watched him, and it was their saving grace,’” says Petrone.
“That kind of feedback is so powerful,” Petrone adds, “when you realize what an impact storytime is having, even outside of the library setting. You’re helping develop that positive association. I’ll never forget one mom told me, ‘Storytime is my baby’s happy place.’”
Another favorite memory, Petrone shared, was when a child took her first steps toward Snowball. “I think it’s a perfect metaphor for what we’re trying to do – develop those first steps toward a lifelong love of learning and reading,” says Petrone. “It was a beautiful moment, and the mom was so excited.”
Celebrity Status
Petrone has always had a soft spot in her heart for libraries. She grew up in Cleveland Heights walking to the Coventry Library. “I’m the oldest of six kids, so my household was hectic and noisy, and the library was calm and peaceful and cool. I was a shy kid, but still there was something about the librarians that brought me out of my shell and made me comfortable.”\
Before she began working for Shaker Library in 1997, Petrone was on staff at an independent bookstore in a variety of roles, running the children’s room, ordering merchandise, and building displays.
When chain bookstores moved into the area, her employer went out of business, and Petrone was out of a job – until she saw an ad for a Children’s Associate at Shaker Library in the Sun Press.
“When I saw it, I thought, ‘That’s it. That’s the job,’” says Petrone. “I love what libraries represent. I don’t have to sell anything. Anybody can use the materials. It’s all free. And there’s a lot of variety in the job – there’s always something to do.”
People who lead storytimes in small communities can become almost like celebrities, and Petrone is one of them. “I often get recognized out in public, which is why I don’t shop at Heinen’s anymore,” Petrone says, laughing.
But most of the time, says Petrone, being recognized is a gift.
“Just the other day, I ran into a man who was a stay-at-home dad years ago, and he brought his daughters to storytime. Now they’re in college. He showed me their picture. He said he misses those days, their simplicity.
Storytime had such an impact on his family – and I got to be part of that.”
The Bridge Builder
What’s Petrone’s favorite part of the job? “Making connections,” she tells me, “whether it’s between two families, two children, or between a child and an author. It’s always so fulfilling.”
Another special connection is between the child and the librarian, as in the case of the Smith family. When Yvonne Smith moved to Shaker Heights in 2017 with her husband and newborn son, Henry, she knew no one.
Yvonne and Henry Smith browse the shelves in the children’s area at Shaker Main Library.
After two months of being cooped up in the house caring for a baby, she set out for Shaker Main Library and wound up at Petrone’s storytime.
Henry responded positively to Petrone’s songs and rhymes, and the other parents and caregivers in the room were friendly and easy to talk to.
Smith returned the next week, and the next, chatting with neighbors and swapping parenting tips, until months stretched into years.
“Storytime was our lifesaver,” Smith says. “It was nice to have some routine and see familiar faces in an unfamiliar time. I saw that there were other new moms, dads, and guardians going through the same things that I was.”
“Storytime was our lifesaver,” says Yvonne Smith, who’s son is now in second grate.
As the pair attended each week, Smith marveled at how Henry’s vocabulary multiplied. She would sometimes catch him singing songs he learned at storytime as he played. And she loved watching him gravitate toward books.
Even though Henry has now aged out of storytime – he’s a second grader at Lomond Elementary this year – he still has a special bond with Ms. Nicki, who helps him pick books based on his interests.
Says Petrone: “I remember how exciting it was the first time Henry came in and told me about a book he was loving. It wasn’t even a book I recommended, but he was sharing because he now had that love of reading.” For Smith, storytime was the gateway to getting to know the community. “The library is the place that helped me meet Shaker. It introduced us to our friends. It taught us the city’s history. I’ve used it to get two of my degrees – literally camped out in the children’s section and worked on a paper while Henry’s either played or read.”
“It makes me a little emotional to think about it,” Smith continues. “I love being able to just come in and have a safe space. I don’t know what I would have done without it.”
