Enterprise Library hosts Halloween pajama party for youngsters

Mona Shield Payne / Special to the Home News

Librarian Elaine Gibbon reads “Where’s My Mummy?” to mesmerized children during storytime at the Boo! Boo! Halloween Pajama Party at Enterprise Library on Monday.

By Ashley Livingston (contact)

Friday, Oct. 31, 2008 | midnight

A Ninja Turtle and Belle from Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" were among the recent guests of the Enterprise Library.

The two costume-clad youngsters joined a group of their peers, also dressed up in either pajamas or costumes, as they stared in rapt attention at children's librarian Elaine Gibbon during the Boo! Boo! Halloween Pajama Party on Monday.

Gibbon, dressed for the occasion in lavender Tinkerbell pajamas, pink butterfly slippers and a small braided yellow wig, got right down to business, employing her spookiest of voices as she read "Where's My Mummy?," "Frankie Stein" and "Halloween Sky Ride" to the 30-plus children scattered on the floor before her.

Among the group were a few members of Cub Scout Pack 313 from Bass Elementary School, who were there partaking in a Go Out and See It outing on their way to obtaining a badge.

"We do an outing every month," said den leader Pam Rosenstein.

Midway through the stories, Gibbon led the children in a stretch, then resumed the spooky voices and tales.

Dressed in pajamas representing such favorites as "The Incredibles," "Star Wars: The Clone Wars,'' peppermint candy, purple hearts, Hello Kitty and the upcoming scary holiday, the children listened as the stories were told.

Attendee Makenna Fritz, 7, said her favorite story was the one about Frankenstein because she thought it was funny that the boy's parents thought the boy wasn't scary at first.

She also liked the mummy story because she and her friend and family had made gingerbread mummies earlier in the day.

"We put little pumpkins for the eyes and M&M's," said Makenna's friend, 7-year-old Sierra Wells.

The girls both wore their pajamas to the story time.

"When they have special events like this, like pajama dress up, it's a nice change from the regular school night," said Makenna's mother, Dawn Fritz.

For Halloween, the girls will get another chance to switch up their usual wardrobe. Makenna said she is going as Pocahontas and Sierra as Dorothy from the "Wizard of Oz."

As the craft portion of the evening got its start, Silverado resident and parent Erwin Miranda stood by snapping photos while his daughter Janae, 7, and son Jade Adrian, 4, got their glue sticks prepared to fuse buttons, wooden pieces, fuzz balls and paper cut outs to orange, paper-plate jack-o'-lanterns.

"I always have a remembrance for my kids every time I take them to an activity," he said. "They look forward to it every time."

Cub scout group member Augie Morgan, 6, said he was excited to get to make the real thing at a friend's house later in the week as he glued red and blue buttons to his jack-o'-lantern,

As eyes, noses and mouths began to take shape, leftover pieces littered the floor and parent's proclaimed, "Good job!"

Soon, the stories were told, the jack-o'-lanterns made and the pajama-clad attendees departed, off to their usual comfy bedtime destinations.

Ashley Livingston can be reached at 990-8925 or ashley.livingston@hbcpub.com.