Meet our March Vol-Star, Chris!
It is a pleasure to announce that this month’s Vol-Star is the phenomenal Chris Norton! Chris volunteers at Pilsen, but she has also worked in our instructional programs as a Big Buddy. She helps out tremendously with many aspects of the warehouse—from scanning and sorting, to packing book grants. Sometimes she even brings her daughters to help out! In addition, Chris is an incredible baker and has brought her masterpieces in for the team to enjoy.
Neighborhood: East Lakeview
Job: Math and Science Tutor and Substitute teacher
Open Books programs/events you’ve participated in: I have volunteered weekly at the warehouse since August 2013. Starting in October 2015, I began going in to the warehouse 2-3 times a week. I mostly work with children’s books, sorting, filling grants, and organizing the store. I also participated in book buddies at McCutcheon in the spring of 2014.
What has been your favorite/most rewarding moment as an Open Books volunteer so far?
My most rewarding moments are probably from when I did Book Buddies the first year. I volunteered and one of the students was excited to have me bring in chapter books. She also began to read with some inflection by the end. My favorite moments are probably enjoying sorting books and the social aspect of working at the warehouse.
What is a tradition from your childhood that you would love to pass on?
I remember my father reading to me when I was young (I’m sure my mother did also, but I have memories of my father reading to me at bedtime). I have read to my girls when I’m home at night. My mother helped to start the local library in my hometown and spent many hours volunteering there. I also volunteer with books and get my girls involved when I can. My mother went to Children’s Literature Conferences and brought home signed books for my brother and me. She even took me to a couple. I take my daughters to meet authors and get autographed books. I have taken my twelve-year-old to a couple of Children’s Literature Breakfasts. We love books and authors and sharing them with others.
If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Mushroom pasta and salad. Or beans and polenta (or ugali). Or sauerkraut…
What is the best Halloween costume you’ve ever worn?
When I was about 7, we had a pet dog and I asked my father to make me a “Cycle 1” dog food can for a costume.
What is your biggest pet peeve?
When students say they can’t do something before even trying or constantly disrupt class and then say they don’t understand.
What is the earliest book you remember reading, and why was it special?
I read a lot of biographies when I was young. I remember reading a biography of Ben Franklin when I was in first grade and writing a report on it. I then gave the report to my teacher who wasn’t quite sure why I’d written it in the first place.
What are you reading right now/what’s the last book you finished? Would you recommend it?
I am currently reading Headstrong: 52 Women Who Changed Science—and the World by Rachel Swaby. I love biographies—especially of people who did cool math and/or science things, so this is totally my kind of book. It is also timely too, since International Women’s day is March 8.
If you could instantly be good at any given thing, what talent would you choose to have?
I would love to have a magic wand to wave and clean my house. Or have the magical ability to get my children to do exactly what they are told to do when they are told to do it—and to have all classes for whom I substitute be on their best behavior. More realistically, I’d like to learn to knit sometime. Being able to dance would be pretty cool too. I have no rhythm, so my only dancing is in the kitchen to the radio with my younger daughter. I think she’s outgrowing the kitchen dancing, though.
Who is your favorite character from a fiction or non-fiction book?
Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables. I am also a big fan of Turtle Wexler from the Westing Game (one of my all-time favorite books).
What is playing on your iPod/CD/record player these days?
I enjoy listening to audiobooks while working in the kitchen or driving. In the kitchen, I am currently listening to Great Kitchens of the Midwest (appropriate for my kitchen choice). In the car, I just finished listening to Graduation Day by Joelle Charbonneau. This is the final book of a trilogy that I began in the fall for my daughter’s book club. I read the other two in print, but sometimes prefer the audio version so that I cannot give in to my temptation to skip ahead in books to find out how they end before reading the middle. I just began The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert. It is a fictional story of a female botanist in the 19th century. There are real historical figures in it as well; it reads a bit like a biography and involves science and travel—some of my favorite topics.
