Children's Storytime for ages 3 - 5 years 

With the help of the AAUW, Kona Stories bookstore will be hosting a monthly story time for children ages 3 - 5 years old.  Since 1881 the American Association of University Women has been the nation's leading voice promoting education and equity for women and girls.  AAUW promotes equity for all women and girls,  lifelong education, and positive societal change.  Kona Stories bookstore is teaming with AAUW to bring a story time to Keauhou Shopping Center.   Participates wishing to attend story time are asked to call and register at 808-324-0350.  There will be a $5.00 participation fee to cover crafts and snack.  Space is limited to 30 children.  Please check in 10 minutes early at Kona Stories Book Store.

Story time will happen in the courtyard of the Keauhou Shopping center on the KTA side. 

78-6831 Ali’I Drive.  For more information call 808-324-0350.

February 29th Event will be a Happy Birthday Party for Dr. Seuss. Yes, there really was a Dr. Seuss. He was not an official doctor, but his prescription for fun has delighted readers for more than 60 years. Theodor (“Ted”) Seuss Geisel was born on March 2, 1904, in Springfield, Massachusetts. His father, Theodor Robert, and grandfather were brewmasters and enjoyed great financial success for many years. Coupling the continual threats of Prohibition and World War I, the German-immigrant Geisels were targets for many slurs, particularly with regard to their heritage and livelihoods. In response, they were active participants in the pro-America campaign of World War I. Thus, Ted and his sister Marnie overcame such ridicule and became popular teenagers involved in many different activities.

Despite some financial hardship the Geisels encountered due to Prohibition, Ted enjoyed a fairly happy childhood. His parents were strict, but very loving. His mother, Henrietta Seuss Geisel, had worked in her father’s bakery before marrying Ted’s father, often memorizing the names of the pies that were on special each day and ‘chanting’ them to her customers. If Ted had difficulty getting to sleep, she would often recall her ‘pie-selling chants.’ As an adult, Ted credited his mother “for the rhythms in which I write and the urgency with which I do it.”

If you’ve never seen a photograph of Dr. Seuss, you probably picture him as a young child or a grandfatherly gentleman. You may not have considered his robust years as a college student.

Ted attended Dartmouth College and by all accounts was a typical, mischievous college student. According to Judith and Neil Morgan, co-authors of Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel and personal friends of his, “Ted grew to respect the academic discipline he discovered at Dartmouth—not enough to pursue it, but to appreciate those who did.” He worked hard to become the editor in chief of Jack-O-Lantern, Dartmouth’s humor magazine.

His reign as editor came to an abrupt end when Ted and his friends were caught throwing a party that did not coincide with school policy. Geisel continued to contribute to Jack-O-Lantern, merely signing his work as “Seuss.” This is the first record of his use of the pseudonym Seuss, which was both his middle name and his mother’s maiden name. It was a perfectly ingenius pseudonym; it squeaked Ted’s work past unsuspecting college officials, yet clearly identified him as the creator.