Carleton Students Present the Carleton Caldecott Club: A Weekly Read-Aloud Program for Children at the Northfield Public Library

Beginning this weekend, student volunteers from Carleton’s ACT (Acting in the Community Together) Center will kick off a new weekly reading program for children of all ages at the Northfield Public Library. The Carleton Caldecott Club is a seven-week program running between January 15th and February 26th. Carleton students will read aloud from Caldecott Medal-winning books to children on Saturday mornings from 11 a.m. to noon. Volunteers will also plan arts and crafts activities that coincide with the theme of the weekly-featured book. This program is free and open to the public, and families are encouraged to attend.

Club Caldecott is a continuation of the Library Story Hour program coordinated by the ACT Center for the last several years. It serves a mutually beneficial role for both volunteers and the Northfield community as an interactive weekly educational program where a group of students read stories aloud, do crafts, and play games with children from Northfield and surrounding areas. Student coordinator and Carleton senior Allie Sterling (New York) oversees Club Caldecott and meets with Northfield librarians to brainstorm ideas for literature and crafts that engage children. “It’s fun to be able to connect with children and parents in the Northfield community, and have the opportunity to work with other Carleton students.”

The seven-week reading program will feature all Caldecott Medal-winning books including: Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann, So You Want to be President? by David Small, Snowflake Bentley by Mary Azarian, Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback, Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig, Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg, and My Friend Rabbit by Eric Rohmann. 

The Caldecott Medal honors nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott, and is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association. This prestigious award is give to artists that create outstanding and distinguished illustrations for American children’s picture books.  

For more information on the program, please contact ACT Director, Laura Riehle-Merrill, at (507) 222-4028, or the Northfield Public Library at (507) 645-6606.