COUNTYWIDE : Local Leaders Book Library Time for Read Aloud

The 70 children at her feet did not think of Ventura County Supervisor Maria VanderKolk as a prominent politician. On Wednesday, like community leaders at libraries around the county, she was just a storyteller.

As part of the Great American Read Aloud, VanderKolk was at Oak Park Library to read “Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters,” the story of two sisters hoping to become queen and how one is chosen by the king for her kindness.

The kind sister helps needy strangers she encounters on the way to the castle without expecting anything in return, while the selfish sister casts them aside. The strangers are later revealed to be the king in disguise.

“I liked it because it has a moral that you should always be good and you should never be jealous of other people,” said Morgan Thrower, 9, a third-grader at Oak Hills Elementary School in Agoura.

Nine branches of the Ventura County Library Services Agency participated in the event, which was duplicated around the nation as celebrities and business people read aloud from their favorite books.

At a time when staffs and book budgets are being severely cut, it’s nice to remember and celebrate the importance of libraries, said library agency spokeswoman Trish Cavanaugh.

“This reinforces the need for the involvement of communities with libraries,” Cavanaugh said. “It seems so much more significant this year than ever before.”

In Oak View, when word got out that no volunteers could be found to read, local resident Denise Alexander, who used to act on “General Hospital,” stepped forward, Cavanaugh said.

In Ventura, City Councilman Tom Buford read “Goodnight Moon” to a delighted group of preschoolers. The bedtime story was one he read to his kids when they were young, Buford said.

“I certainly believe that libraries are an important part of society and important to the future of society,” Buford said.