More than two decades of Cuentos en Español
It began as a volunteer gig—Pati Rocha was new to the community and found other Spanish-speaking moms who were looking to preserve some of their culture with their young children. She approached the library about allowing her to lead a storytime in Spanish, and the group was soon meeting once a week, using their own books and basking in each other’s company.
Then it was the library’s turn to approach Pati—would she be interested in a part-time gig teaching Spanish computer classes? She accepted, and little by little, part-time became full-time, she started the Spanish language collection, and eventually was made Latino Program Coordinator, planning events for all ages, open to all, Spanish-speaking or not.
Next the schools approached—would the library extend Spanish programming to them? Soon “Miss Pati” was bringing her particularly animated brand of storytelling to children around the valley through the Cuentos en Español program for PreK to 3rd graders. Fast forward 20-some years, and Pati is by far the most-recognized-around-town library staffer, who receives the most thank you notes (and hugs) from children.
For Pati, Cuentos en Español never gets old, even though the children age out (some have become parents themselves and attend storytime with their own children). She loves connecting with students, especially now that her son is grown and her grandson lives in another state, and notes that even the most wiggly settle down and become absorbed in the books, pointing out details in the illustrations that even she did not see.
Enjoy a storytime with Miss Pati for yourself at tclib.org/hispanohablantes