The Bookery: Encore Episode
Celebrate the joy of books with this original tale, written by Kathleen about book lover, Timothy Tuttle, who has to find a way to save his beloved books after a thunderstorm tears a hole in his roof. Encore episode – originally aired in November 2021. (duration 15 minutes) An episode from storytelling podcast, Journey with Story.
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The Bookery
Encore Episode
April 13,2023
Do you like books? Do you have a lot of books in your house? Where do you keep your books? What is your all time favorite book?
Hello everyone, I ‘m Kathleen Pelley. Welcome to Journey with Story. Well, I am sure many of you are booklovers and story lovers – after all that is why you like listening to this podcast. And I am sure many of you maybe have your very own bookcase in your bedroom where you keep your favorite books? Well today’s episode is about a man who loves books so much that he eventually runs out of space to fit them into his tiny house-but luckily, he comes up with a very creative solution.
This is an original story written by me for you.
And this story is dedicated to all the girls and boys and their teachers and parents at the Living Learning Homeschool – Family Clusters Kinder I and SNS D who hosted a zoom author’s visit from me last month all the way from the Philippines. And they then performed two beautiful songs for me – take a listen here….
Wasn’t that beautiful? Thank you boys and girls at the Living Learning Homeschool for sharing your sweet voices with all of our listeners on JWS.
And if you are a parent or a teacher who would like to host a zoom meeting from me, then you can find out how to do that if you visit our website at www.journeywithstory.com
Let’s take a journey with THE BOOKERY
Timothy Tuttle was a lover of books. He had oodles of them stuffed into every nook and cranny of his itty-bitty house, which was an attic above the bakery.
Books! Books! Books! Everywhere a book. Timothy Tuttle had books for sunny days, and soggy days, for up days and down days. He had books for everyone and anyone, for fusspots and worrywarts, for bossy boots and know-it-alls, for dreamers and doers.
And in times of trouble, be it a torn teddy, a bent bike, or a sick kitty, Timothy Tuttle always turned up with a listening ear, a hearty hug, and just the book to banish the blues and heal the hurt.
But whenever he popped into the baker’s below to lend a book, Mr. Cameron only tsked and tutted and shooed him away. “I’ve no time for books,” he grumbled. “There’s bread to bake and buns to frost. Besides, I have told you before, Mr. Tuttle, you have altogether too many books. You are going to run out of room one of these days!”
Timothy Tuttle only chuckled, “No, no, no!” he insisted. “Books are like friends. There will always be room for another.”
And when one dreadful day, Timothy Tuttle did run out of room for his beloved books, he simply shrugged and said, “Oh, dear, now I will just have to find some more unusual spots for my books.” And that is just what he did.
He crammed a bundle into the empty stove. He wedged some in between the stairs. He squirreled a few into socks and slippers and shoes. He buried others in breadbaskets and flowerpots. He even built a turret of books by the window and a tunnel of books in the hall. Now the only place left for him to read was perched atop a mound of books in the bathtub.
But Timothy Tuttle never complained. Instead he continued to feast on books: books that moved him to tears, to smiles, to do good, and to be more. Books! Books! Books! From cellar to ceiling, through hall and bedroom and beyond, books brimmed.
“Too many books,” scolded Mr. Cameron as he bumped into a merry band of booklovers bounding down the stairs.
“Nonsense!” called Timothy Tuttle from the landing. “Books are like friends. They make you love more. You can never have too many.”
And indeed, everyone agreed you could not wish for a finer friend than Timothy Tuttle.
When little Lucinda Brennan was in the hospital with a spot of tummy trouble, Timothy Tuttle trundled off to give her a wheel-barrowful of books tied up in a ribbon. He stayed a while and read her his favorite book of poems. “You’re a pall!” trilled Lucinda. And her face sparkled like a star.
When Fireman Jim’s old cat, Alice, died, Timothy Tuttle bustled off to the fire station with a tuna casserole and a book called, “Kitty Heaven.” He hung around to listen to some Alice stories. Then he left with a wave and a hug.
And when Mr. Cameron came down with the flu, it was Timothy Tuttle who kept the bakery open. “But..but..but…how will you manage?” sputtered Mr. Cameron.
‘Not to worry,” soothed Timothy Tuttle. “I’ve read up all about it.”
For four days he kneaded the dough, frosted the buns and baked the bread, while customers streamed in and out.
Meanwhile Mr. Cameron lay in the back bedroom with a bottle of medicine, a bowl of soup, and a bundle of books.
Day after day, spoonful-by-spoonful, the soup and the medicine chased away his fever and his chills. And page after page, word by word, those books of stories buried their way into his heart and charmed him into …a booklover, with a penchant for pirate stories!
On the fifth day Mr. Cameron told Timothy Tuttle, “I’m almost better now, but still, can you bring me another bundle of books tomorrow?”
“Certainly,” agreed Timothy Tuttle.
But before tomorrow dawned, a storm began to brew. In the middle of the night the rain lashed and the wind screeched. A mighty gust ripped a hole through the roof. Torrents of rain gushed in.
“My books!” cried Timothy Tuttle as he leapt out of bed. “They’ll be ruined!”
He called his friend, Fireman Jim. He came at once with his fire brigade. “It’s going to take a while to mend this roof,” yelled Fireman Jim.
“You need to move your books somewhere safe…at once.”
“But..but…but…where?” wailed Timothy Tuttle.
“My bakery of course!” It was Mr. Cameron. He had heard all the commotion and had come to help.
“Oh, splendid!” agreed Timothy Tuttle. “But how can we move all these books?”
“We could use our special fireman’s chute,” suggested Fireman Jim. But it turned out the attic staircase was too narrow for the chute and for all those burly firemen
“Oh, dear, now what shall we do?” wailed Mr. Cameron.
Timothy Tuttle had no answer. He bit his lip. His heart flip-flopped as he thought of a bookless life. As he stared outside and pondered his predicament, he noticed…a flock of friends.
“We heard about your troubles,” they yelled, as they hammered on his door. “We’re here to help.”
At once Timothy Tuttle mustered his wits and his manners.
“In you come!” he cried. “Now make a chain, “ he ordered, “a human chain. We can move the books hand to hand.
And that is just what they did. Friend by friend, hand to hand, book by book, in stacks and piles and bundles, they moved that atticful of books, until they were all lined up next to the bread and buns, safe and snug and dry. “Thank you my friends!” cried Timothy Tuttle amidst a flurry of cheers and tears.
Until his roof was mended, Timothy Tuttle stayed with Mr. Cameron. Then he returned to his attic with a pile of his favorite books. But the rest remained at the bakery.
As it turned out, Mr. Cameron liked having a bounty of books in his store. “It’s good for business,” he declared. And Timothy Tuttle liked having such a bounty of nooks and crannies to sit and read again. “It’s good for the soul!” he declared.
Mr. Cameron and Timothy Tuttle hung up a new sign outside.
THE BOOKERY.
Now from far and near, people flocked to buy their bread, borrow a book, and make a friend or two. Books! Books! Books! Everywhere a book!
Wondering if any of this story painted some pictures in your head – would love you to send me your drawings – we will share them on social media and also on our website at www.journeywithstory. And every now and then we pick a random drawing and give it a shout out on our podcast. So get busy with your drawings.
And thanks again to all the boys and girls from the Living Learning Homeschool in the Philippines….
Cheerio then, join us next time for Journey with Story
