Remembering Pooh

If you have ever lived in Saskatoon for a length of time, especially as a child or a parent, you have probably been to Pooh Corner.

Pooh Corner is the name of the storytime room at our Library, and it is a wonderful, magical place. It has carpeted steps to sit on while you listen, lights shaped like stars in the ceiling, and even a fireplace for those cozy special storytelling occasions. Library staff at our Library are recognized nationally for their innovative, creative children's programming, and it all happens here in Pooh Corner. They design their own programs. They make their own puppets and sets. It's live theatre for short people, and thousands of children experience the magic in Pooh Corner each year through school visits and drop-in storytimes.

When people here talk to me about the Library at cocktail parties, sometimes they say, "Oh! I have an overdue book!" or "Do you think I have a fine on my card?" (universal library patron angst), but mostly they talk about Pooh Corner. "Is Pooh Corner still there?", "What a great place that was, when I was a kid." Pooh Corner has taken hold of the hearts of Saskatoon people in a fiercely emotional way, because of the wonders they saw and heard there as children.

This year, Saskatoon is celebrating its centennial, and as a way to celebrate, the Library is planning a Pooh Corner homecoming. And, bless their heart, the Library has also created a blog about Pooh Corner - if you have a memory of our beloved story room, you can leave a reminiscence. I'm a proud squirrel.