A New Chapter for Story Time
How a South Chicago Story Time Is Catering to Modern Families
It’s about a quarter after nine on a Sunday morning in late November. Nena Szczepanski is preparing to secure her two-and-a-half year old son Payton in his car seat. Within a few minutes, they’ll begin the forty-minute ride from their home in Griffith Park, Ind., to BING, a small, independent bookshop and reading room on Chicago’s south side.
“There are other story times at our local library,” she says, “but nothing as fun or diverse as South Side Story Time.”
South Side Story Time is a monthly gathering that curates readings, songs and dancing for its young attendees along with the chance for their parents to socialize. And it’s not only a favorite among younger families in the neighborhood, but also draws people — like Szczepanksi — from other parts of the city and beyond.
There’s no single ingredient that makes South Side Story Time — or SSST, as the insiders refer to it — so special, so distinct from the more convenient story times Szezpanksi could access closer to home. Rather, there’s a certain alchemy of people, space and attitude that combines to draw Szczepanski from the northwest Indiana town where she and her husband are raising Payton to this strip of South Chicago.
The magic of SSST is apparent the moment Szezepanski and her son step through the doors at BING, where story time is about to get under way. They walk into a space that’s at once informal and utilitarian while also being modern and well-designed. High, white walls, a big front window and contemporary built-in shelves make the place feel big and breathable, despite its small footprint. The sunlight that filters through the enormous pane of glass keeps the room bright. They’re greeted by SSST team members as they walk in. Kids are already playing. Parents are talking to other parents.
“It’s a wonderful atmosphere for everyone,” says Szczepanksi. “Everyone is kind. Everyone speaks. There is no judgment among parents.”
Ashley Martin, who also lives in Northwest Indiana and has recently started attending SSST with her two-year-old daughter, Luna, agrees that the people who turn up contribute to the unique and welcoming feel of the monthly gathering. “I love the atmosphere!” she exclaims.
The open, inviting vibe is complemented by the diversity of the programming itself. Authors and community organizers, musicians and deejays — different guest hosts hailing from various creative and cultural backgrounds lead story time each month, offering children (and their parents) the chance to explore various aspects of contemporary culture — some familiar and some new. Kids listen, learn, talk, sing, dance and interact.
Not only does this open the minds and imaginations of SSST’s young guests, but it contributes to the sense of Chicago’s South Side as a cultural destination with an expanding palette of attractions for people of all ages and backgrounds. This hasn’t always been the case. Despite communities that stretch back generations and the presence of institutions like the University of Chicago and the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago’s southern neighborhoods have endured more than their fair share of crime, disinvestment and economic hardship in recent decades. The founders of SSST are helping to turn this tide — and they see storytelling as their primary tool.
“We were tired of traveling up to the north side to access cultural offerings,” says Megan Jeyifo, who, along with entertainer and entrepreneur Keewa Nurullah, founded SSST in March 2017. “We also wanted to help cultivate a stronger community of South Side parents.”
And when it comes to bringing together adults who might not otherwise have reason to get to know one another, SSST is winning.
Before the event begins, parents — whether they know each other or not — chitchat as they watch their kids bounce around the room. (Ashley Martin says that her daughter, Luna, was so excited for her first story time that she ran around hugging every single child the moment she arrived. This compelled Martin to talk to other parents, she says, because “I felt I had to explain my overly affectionate child’s behavior.”)
During story time itself, parents are encouraged to get involved in the fun — and they don’t need much prodding. “What I really love about story time is how much the parents get into,” says Jeyifo. They listen, laugh and bust a move right along with their kids. And this creates a relaxing atmosphere where everyone feels connected and at ease.
The adult mingling often continues afterward, when guests are encouraged to swing next door to Currency Exchange Café. Like BING, Currency Exchange sits along the Washington Park community’s Arts Block, an evolving redevelopment initiative that’s party of the Arts + Public Life initiative at nearby University of Chicago and is led by artist, innovator and university faculty member Theaster Gates. Like so many Gates-conceived spaces, the layout of the café is designed to feel welcoming and encourage mingling. When story time is over, parents and children often sit at the café’s large communal table with other parents and children — their new friends — to catch up over juice, coffee and mimosas.
This is exactly what Szczepanski and her son Payton did in November after they spent the hour getting cultural with a local deejay. When story time ended, they wandered over to the café, where they grabbed some snacks and drinks. Payton mingled with other toddlers while his Szczepanski caught up with moms she had met at previous story times.
While SSST offers a model of story time success — after all, parents are willing to battle time and traffic to attend — it also points to an absence of enticing options closer to home. It’s not, of course, that other story times don’t exist. But they lack the magnetism of SSST. When these sorts of events are designed to cater to both children and adults, when they welcome in a variety of perspectives and cultural touchpoints, when they’re hosted in modern spaces and designed to make guests feel welcome from the moment they arrive, then attendees are willing to make story time a priority.
And this is a formula that’s not exclusive to south Chicago. Jeyifo believes the combination of activities, atmosphere and attendees that SSST sees is achievable in many other places. “I would love for other people to start story times in their own communities,” she says.
Of course, many other communities do have their own story times — in libraries, in recreation halls, in community centers. But it’s probably rare that they attract visitors from forty miles away, visitors who have other options in their own backyards. Until civic asset leaders figure out how to reimagine their programming in ways that make them relevant to modern families, parents like Nena Szczepanski and Ashely Martin will keep traveling far to find a story time that feels like home.
Reimagining the Civic Commons is a collaboration between The JPB Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation and local partners.
