What's Happening: Storytime for Omaha

Nancy Chmiel held up the book and began to read: “Walking through the jungle on my two bare feet, hip-hopping to the rhythm of a jungle beat.”

Chmiel, a librarian with the Omaha Public Library, was actually in the decidedly un-junglelike Holland Performing Arts Center, where she was holding a “Travelin' Round Downtown” storytime event.

A group of about 25 young children listened eagerly as Chmiel talked about music. Creativity is a key part of the library's summer storytime program.

“I decided to go to creative places in the downtown area, to hopefully bring people downtown to see what downtown has to offer,” Chmiel said. “They all include a storytime and then a tour.”

The events are geared to children in kindergarten to third grade, Chmiel said.

For the Holland performance, Chmiel chose two picture books dealing with music: “Jungle Beat” by Jim Post, and “Two Sticks,” by Orel Protopopescu and Anne Wilsdorf.

Parent Katie Watterson said she enjoyed the chance to expose her children -- five-year-old Maddie, 22-month-old Olivia and 1-month-old Nora -- to the Holland Center.

She was enjoying Chmiel's lively presentation.

“It's nice when they interact with the kids and get a little animated,” she said.

Future downtown story times will be held at First National Wagon Trail Park at 15th and Capitol Streets at 10:30 a.m. July 8, and at the Omaha World-Herald Freedom Center, 14th and Capitol Streets, 10:30 a.m. July 22. Call 444-4811 for more information.