Zippety Day!

Today was Zippety Day at my library, a day to celebrate our mascot. And what better way to celebrate than with a party? With games, crafts, a specially written story, and a craft, Zippety Day is one of our favorite events to plan.

One of four posters featuring zippety

Playing Feed Zippety a Cookie

fishing - photo by Nicholas Navarre

Playing Musical Statues - photo by Nicholas Navarre

Wearing our Zippety hats with Zippety!

 

What is Zippety wearing?

We frequently dress Zippety, our mascot, in costumes as a way of advertising upcoming program. In preparation for this weekend's annual pet show, Zippety is sporting his favorite cat costume.

Zippety's Birthday Bash

Saturday was the Zippety party and as far as I could tell it was a resounding success. Activities included making a birthday crown

pin the bow tie on Zippety

 balloon races

 a Zippety story

 and, of course, cake.

 

Zippety's own story

The book is complete. It took a solid week of hard work, but Zippety's story is finished in time for his party on Saturday and I'm pretty pleased with the end result. The book itself came in a kit of three book blanks, saving us from having to figure out a way to get our story bound. Here are a few images of the book and it's interior.

A special story for Zippety

When we first created our mascot, Zippety, we had a lot of plans for the ways we would use him, most of which we have attempted at least once. He's had a walk on part in a puppet show, been a model for our annual pet show, and made an appearance at a number of programs. Our favorite role, by far, is his annual birthday party. The party is an hour long storytime with games and cake on a Saturday morning in March. Last year I read a book from our collection. This year we decided to go a different route. I'm in the process of writing and illustrating a story about Zippety. I hope to have an update on this project for you next week.

What is Zippety wearing?

In a continuation of yesterday's introduction to our mascot, Zippety, I'd like to share Zippety's  most recent costume. This one is in anticipation of March 2, Dr. Seuss Day, and our week of Dr. Seuss themed storytimes.

 

Introducing Zippety

Two years ago, we decided our library needed a mascot. After a lot of discussion we decided we wanted something truly unique to our library. We made a sock doll and created a ballot with a list of names patrons could vote between. The general favorite was Zippety. Zippety lives on a shelf top in our children's area. He wears costumes, has several pen pals among our young patrons, and generally helps promote upcoming library events. I hope to post on here every time he wears a new costume, so keep and eye out for Zippety.