At the front desk inside the Petersburg Public Library, Program Coordinator Kari Petersen helped Tess Crump, 7, write a name tag for her stuffed animal, Hello Kitty.
“What does Hello Kitty like to do before bed?” Petersen asked.
“She liked to eat donuts,” Tess said.
Petersen tied the nametag to Hello Kitty, joining over a dozen other toys dropped off for the library’s Stuffed Animal Sleepover event.
Library clerk Barb Steltz organized the after-hours event.
“When the library closes, we sort of have a little stuffed animal party, and we have a lot of fun,” she explained. “The animals — sometimes they behave themselves, sometimes they get up to a little bit of mischief. We had [posed] animals trying to cut the phone cord last year and all sorts of funny things …and then we photograph that.”
Steltz said the library used to do these sleepovers several years ago to give kids a fun way to interact with the library. But when the person who facilitated the event left the library, nobody continued the tradition, and the sleepovers disappeared.
Steltz started the event again last year, and saw a big turnout.
“I think we had over 40 stuffed animals last year,” Steltz recalled. “Mostly from kids, but not only!”
While only 14 stuffed animals came to the sleepover this year, Steltz said it made the night easier to manage.
“We had … three high school kids who came to help and to photograph,” said Steltz. “Being as it was their first time, I think having not as much stuffies to corral was easier.”
Those 14 stuffed animals got into a lot of mischief. While some read books and played games, others broke into bags of marshmallows and tackled Steltz to the floor. Some tried to cut into books and knocked them off shelves. Photos of the evening’s shenanigans were printed out for the kids and shared on Facebook.
Steltz said sharing the photos is one of the best parts.
“The kids will come in … they’ll get three or four photos,” Steltz said. “And just the little look of delight in their eyes … the smiles start to come.”
When 7-year-old Tess returned to the library the next day, she was surprised by Hello Kitty’s behavior.
“She was eating a donut, she was in the bathroom… and she snuck marshmallows!” Tess said, flipping through the photos.
Steltz said she’d love to offer the stuffed animal sleepover again in the future — noting that her teenage helpers were already brainstorming when to host the next event.
