L ve Reading

By Tonya Wertman

I have a secret love affair with libraries. The first thing that hits my senses when I step inside is the smell of paper and ink, bound together to spin tales of wonder and whimsy. When I first toured The Pegasus School, I marveled at the palpable warmth and dedication of its faculty and staff, but held my breath until I found its beating heart: the library. I entered with hope and exhaled. Two feet over the threshold stood a Christmas tree created out of books… that predated Pinterest! What kindred spirit could have created such a place?

Kathy Henderson, The Pegasus School’s legendary librarian from 2000-2009, single-handedly gave birth to our library’s signature magic claims Carin Meister, her mentee and current steward of the post. “Meeting Kathy changed the course of my life,” Meister insists, assigning her credit for the breadth of her own expertise and the depth and longevity of our hallowed library programs. Henderson admits to being an avid reader (a job requirement, it would seem) but is equally passionate about programs centered around reading. During her tenure she made it her mission that every Pegasus student experience the spellbinding power of literature, and she believed it vital to the development of lifelong readers to see their own experiences represented in books. Such a lofty goal required bending a few rules.

Henderson admits to having invited banned book authors to campus for readings because, she says, freedom of information and expression was foundational to her goal. Her first inroad into the American Library Association’s list of Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 2000-2009 occurred when she scored a visit with Chris Crutcher, the proud author of three books on the list: #41 Whale Talk, #44 Athletic Shorts, and #85 Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes. “Banned Books Week,” an annual awareness campaign promoted by the American Library Association and Amnesty International, became a personal favorite of Henderson’s because “it generated thought-provoking conversations on important topics.” Author visits are now a staple. The Pegasus School has hosted bestselling authors and illustrators such as Jane O’Connor, Robin Preiss Glasser, Dan Krall, Alison McGhee, Tom Angleberger, Melissa Savage, Ernesto Cisneros, Mac Barnett, Jory John, to name a few, and most recently Jennifer Holm, Newbery Award winning children’s author.

by Pegasus students, is legendary. “It was on fertile ground at Pegasus,” Henderson shares. “How could it not work?”

Having grown up in a family that frequented the theater and read Shakespeare together, Henderson added Shakespeare Week, the most personal Henderson addition and the one dearest to her heart. It was important to Henderson to “sell Shakespeare” because his writing is often challenging to read and understand; to accomplish her goal, she built up to the week-long festival incrementally. Today, it includes a host of delights, like character dress-up, art and trivia contests, monologue competitions, an Elizabethan Picnic, and even Nine Men’s Morris, a strategy board game that dates back to the Roman Empire.

These signature programs have outlived Henderson’s time at Pegasus and continue to flourish at the hands of Meister, who has been the librarian for the last sixteen years.

Humility check: Henderson adamantly credits the success of her programs to founder, Laura Hathaway. “Laura never said no to the library,” she recalls.

“She never turned down my ideas.” And the ideas were boundless! Henderson met regularly with other Orange County librarians and was an active member in online forums specific to independent schools. These connections generated the spark that ultimately shaped Women’s History Day, a treasured event that takes place every three years, where Pegasus family and friends become historic women—in dress and character—in order to bring an important past to life to students of all ages.

Although a national Battle of the Books (BOB) program had existed, Henderson put her own spin on the interscholastic competition. Each year, a BOB committee selects a list of books geared to fourth- and fifth-grade readers. Henderson, and then Meister, held the reins on final selection. In this way, they could ensure gender parity, diversity, and varying genres. The success of the program, from the number of eager participants (10 students in 2007 to 90 in 2020) to BOB victories

But Meister must also accommodate a rapidly-changing landscape in the field of publishing and library science. Her overarching mission is to select new titles for her stacks that reflect the students who read them. With the support of the Administration, she has formalized a book-selection policy that prioritizes unique needs of children; this blueprint guides the purchase of each new book, which total about five hundred every year! “There are more voices in children’s literature than ever before,” shares Meister, “and the student’s requests continue to surprise me.” (Like: a book on the baking traditions of Mexico and another about the process of coffee making.)

Although students have unfettered access to the internet and incessantly beckoning screens, reading is now a vital mainstay in developmental health. The Pegasus School library’s historically proactive role and its commitment to reaching all students is the ultimate antidote to the lure of passive technology. By fostering the desire to read for joy, encouraging families to relish books together, and keeping book-themed activities and traditions alive, Henderson and Meister have contributed thousands of vibrant readers into society. It is a tremendous achievement.

And it’s just the beginning…