Beloved children’s books will come alive as Storyland: A Trip Through Childhood Favorites opens at ImaginOn on May 25 and runs through Sept. 7.

Storyland, a new exhibit built by Minnesota Children’s Museum, provides imaginative, book-based experiences for children, and models early literacy experiences to parents and other adult caregivers.

Storyland transforms seven award-winning picture books – The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter; The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats; Where’s Spot? by Eric Hill; If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff; Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault; Abuela by Arthur Dorros; and Tuesday by David Wiesner into three-dimensional play and bi-lingual (English and Spanish) learning environments that highlight the six pre-reading skills: disposition to read, print awareness, letter knowledge, sound awareness, vocabulary, and narrative skills and comprehension.

Admission to the exhibit is free. The exhibit is open during ImaginOn building hours: Monday-Thursday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Friday-Saturday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. (ImaginOn is closed on Sundays from Memorial Day to Labor Day for summer hours.) For more information, call 704-416-4600 or visit imaginon.org.

Information for Groups:

Can I bring a group? Yes! Groups are welcome to visit the exhibit after noon, Monday-Saturday. There is a maximum number of 30 children and one adult chaperone for every eight students. Reservations are neither required nor accepted and entry into the exhibit is always on a first-come, first-served basis. However, if you wish to combine your visit to the exhibit with any other building-wide activity, a group visit booking is required. You can make a request at imaginon.org/calendar/group-visits.

Can a group make a reservation to visit the exhibit? No, all visits to the exhibit happen on a first-come, first-served basis. Families are encouraged to take advantage of Family Time if your schedule allows. (See below for details.)

Is there a time when the exhibit is open just for families? Yes! Family Time for the exhibit is every Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. – noon. During this time, the exhibit is open just for children with their parents/caregivers (Limit 5 children per adult).

Can children visit the exhibit by themselves? Children under age 8 must be always with a caregiver. Caregivers should be at least 12 years old and mature enough to follow ImaginOn rules and guidelines. Chaperones are required for all groups visiting ImaginOn and the exhibit.

What if the exhibit is full when I arrive? Because visitor safety is our top priority, admittance into the exhibit is limited. This allows guests the ability to fully explore the exhibit at their own pace. If the exhibit is “full,” we have a queuing area where visitors can wait to enter the exhibit on a first-come, first-served basis. We have suggested activities to pass the time while you are in line.

The summer exhibit at ImaginOn is funded through the Library’s Humanities Endowment Fund, with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

World Refugee Day is an international day designated by the United Nations to honor refugees around the globe. It falls each year on June 20 and celebrates the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their home country to escape conflict or persecution. World Refugee Day is an occasion to build empathy and understanding for their plight and to recognize their resilience in rebuilding their lives.

The Library wants use this chance to share its resources from WelcomeCLT, specifically its immigration resources page. From naturalization to resettlement communities and world languages, the WelcomeCLT has a number of resources at your disposal. 

Customers can now visit ImaginOn and Sugar Creek Library to check out books from the Library's Children's Lucky Day Collection! 

The Children's Lucky Day Collection is a collection of highly popular books that are available for immediate check-out. It is made up of popular graphic novels and chapter books that are often checked out. 

These collections will always goes back to ImaginOn and Sugar Creek and will not be discoverable in BiblioCommons. The goal is for customers to walk in and discover it. 

One important change we are making to both Lucky Day Collections is increasing the number of checkouts from three to up to six items per account. The check out period will be the same as other materials (3 weeks), but renewals will not be allowed. We want as many readers as possible to enjoy the collection. Good luck!

July is Disability Pride Month!

Did you know that you can utilize 3D printing technology to assist you or your loved ones with physical disabilities and limitations? There are countless designs out there to help with tasks ranging from opening doors, cooking, getting dressed, and so much more!

This year to celebrate Disability Pride Month, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library’s South County Regional Branch will be 3D printing select assistive devices and mobility aids at no cost to you! You can check out the list of qualifying items here.

Charlotte, North Carolina, was first settled after colonists made their way down the Great Wagon Road. Northern colonies in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia had become crowded, so settlers went south to seek religious and economic freedom, as well as to take advantage of quality farmland. Native Americans used this trail for hunting, trading, and war long before the settlers used it to migrate south. The Native Americans named the trail “Warriors Path.” 

Conestoga Wagon, courtesy of Wikimedia. 

Before Charlotte was chartered in 1768 by the colonial North Carolina General Assembly, settlers called the area “Charlottetowne” after Queen Charlotte Sophia of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. The settlers sought to honor Queen Charlotte’s husband, King George III, as well as to sway Assemblymen into making Charlotte the site of the county courthouse as a political bid. Courthouses enabled cities to grow economically by serving as a hub for visitors and business during quarterly sessions. The Assemblymen chartered the city of Charlotte in 1768 and entitled the city to a courthouse and a prison.  

The charter reads: 

“Be it therefore Enacted, by the Governor, Council, and Assembly, and by the Authority of the same, That the said Three Hundred and Sixty Acres of Land, so laid off by the Commissioners or Trustees as aforesaid, be, and the same is hereby constituted, erected, and established, a Town and Town Common, and shall be called by the name of Charlotte.” 

-- Acts of the North Carolina General Assembly, 1768; North Carolina. General Assembly; November 07, 1768 - December 05, 1768; Volume 23, Pages 759-783; CHAPTER XI. 

1766- The First Mecklenburg County Courthouse (modern interpretation). Courtesy of the Robinson-Spangler Carolina Room. 

Mecklenburg County, the county in which the city of Charlotte exists, was also named in honor of Queen Charlotte. Charlotte’s birthplace was Mecklenburg-Strelitz, which is a province in present-day northern Germany. Queen Charlotte never actually visited our city, but one of her handwritten letters is housed at the Robinson-Spangler Carolina Room in the Main Library: 

Queen Charlotte Letter, 1812. Courtesy of Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, Robinson-Spangler Carolina Room. 

 

Who was Queen Charlotte anyway?   

George III (1738-1820), Queen Charlotte (1744-1818) and their Six Eldest Children. Courtesy of Zoffany Royal Collection Trust/© Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, 2014. 

Queen Charlotte Sophia was born in Mecklenburg-Strelitz (in the Holy Roman Empire) in 1744, to Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg and Princess Elisabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen. As a child, she was educated by a priest in botany, natural history and language, but focused her studies in housekeeping and religion. As demonstrated by the letter above, Charlotte learned how to read and write. These were rare skills for women during that time—her royal status permitted her to have access to education through multiple tutors.  

Unfinished portrait depicting the marriage of George III to Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz on 8 September 1761, Sir Joshua Reynolds. Courtesy of Royal Collection Trust. 

At 17 years old in 1761, Charlotte was engaged to King George III. She was an attractive option to wed because she was born in an “insignificant” part of Europe and would likely have no interest in politics; she was instructed by George III after their wedding “not to meddle” in politics, which she obeyed. However, she did have indirect political influence—she used her closeness to George III to keep herself informed and to recommend office appointments, as well as keep German interests in mind. She did not speak English at first but learned quickly. One observer commented, "She is timid at first but talks a lot, when she is among people she knows."  

View of Buckingham House from WH Pyne, The History of the Royal Residences, 1819 (Courtesy of the British Library).

Although St. James Palace was the official Royal residence, Queen Charlotte fell in love with Buckingham House, which she and George III moved into shortly after purchasing. She gave birth to 14 of her 15 children in the house that eventually became known as “The Queen’s House.” This property is now popularly known as Buckingham Palace. 

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Opus 3 Dedication Page. Courtesy of Bibliorare. 

Queen Charlotte had a passion for music, so she brought a harpsichord with her from Germany and took lessons from Johann Christian Bach, son of Johann Sebastian Bach. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart once played the organ as Queen Charlotte sang on a family trip to England when he was 8 years old. Mozart later dedicated his Opus 3 to his beloved queen. On the dedication page he wrote, “Filled with pride and joy at daring to offer you a tribute, I was finishing up these sonatas to be laid at the feet of your Majesty [Queen Charlotte]; I was, I confess, drunk with vanity and thrilled with myself, when I spied the Genius of Music at my side.”  

Queen Charlotte (1744-1818) by Sir Allan Ramsay, ca. 1761-1769. Courtesy of Royal Collection Trust, https://www.rct.uk/collection/402413/queen-charlotte-1744-1818 

According to some genealogists, Queen Charlotte is informally considered the second biracial Queen of England. She was purportedly a direct descendent of Margarita de Castro e Sousa, a member of the African branch of the Portuguese Royal House. Early portraits of the Queen show that Charlotte had hints of African physical attributes. Sir Allan Ramsay painted many portraits of Queen Charlotte, seen above. Writings from the period also alluded to her “mulatto” appearance, meaning “one with mixed black and white ancestry.”  

As anti-slavery movements in England became more prevalent, royal portrait painters were instructed to soften “undesirable” features in their subjects’ faces. This included making Queen Charlotte’s skin tone appear lighter and manipulating other physical features. In fact, Ramsay’s Coronation portrait of Charlotte was distributed in England and the colonies to subtly stoke anti-slavery sentiment due to the prevalence of Charlotte’s African features.  

A photo of Kew Gardens, the royal botanical garden Queen Charlotte helped maintain. Photo by Kew Gardens. 

Queen Charlotte had a keen interest in botany and played a large role in expanding and preserving Kew Gardens, the Royal botanical gardens in Kew, England. She was known by the British public as the “Queen of Botany,” and botanists named the Bird of Paradise, a flower native to South Africa, the Strelitzia reginae in her honor. Charlotte turned to botany when she struggled with her mental health, which is when she planned the gardens of the Frogmore House in Windsor.  

Queen Charlotte was also a philanthropist, founding several orphanages in England. She founded and was named the Patron of the General Lying-in Hospital in London, which was later named The Queen’s Hospital and is now known as The Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital. Queen Charlotte was also known to offer aid to poor families, as well as helped struggling musicians. 

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Sources:  

Blakemore, Erin. “Meghan Markle Might Not Be the First Mixed-Race British Royal.” History. https://www.history.com/news/biracial-royalty-meghan-markle-queen-charlotte. Accessed August 2019. 

Cooper, Jean L. and Angelika S. Powell. “Queen Charlotte’s Letters.” http://people.virginia.edu/~jlc5f/charlotte/letter_intro.html. Accessed August 2019.  

“England’s 18th Century Black Queen, Sophie Charlotte born.” AAREG. https://aaregistry.org/story/englands-first-black-queen-sophie-charlotte-born/. Accessed August 2019. 

Fraser, Flora. “Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III.” New York: Knopf, 2005. (CML Call No. 941.073 Fraser) 

Hanchett, Tom. “The History of Charlotte.” Charlotte. https://www.charlottesgotalot.com/articles/history/the-history-of-charlotte. Accessed August 2019. 

Hedley, Olwen. “Queen Charlotte.” London: J. Murray, 1875. (NCR B C479c H455) 

“History Timeline, Rural Beginnings 1730-1772, 1776- The First Mecklenburg County Courthouse.” Charlotte Mecklenburg Story. https://www.cmstory.org/exhibits/history-timeline-rural-beginnings-1730-1772/1766-first-mecklenburg-county-courthouse. Accessed August 2019. 

“History Timeline, Rural Beginnings 1730-1772, 1768- Charlotte Chartered.” Charlotte Mecklenburg Story. https://www.cmstory.org/exhibits/history-timeline-rural-beginnings-1730-1772/1768-charlotte-chartered. Accessed August 2019.  

Jackson, Marshall R., III. “Great Wagon Road.” NCPedia.  https://www.ncpedia.org/great-wagon-road. Accessed August 2019.  

“Queen Charlotte (19 May 1744- 17 November 1818.” The Royal Family. https://www.royal.uk/. Accessed August 2019. 

Valdes y Cocom, Mario de. “The Blurred Racial Lines of Famous Families: Queen Charlotte.” South Carolina etv. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/secret/famous/royalfamily.html.  

Walk-Morris, Tatiana. “Five Things to Know About Queen Charlotte.” Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smartnews-arts-culture/5-things-you-didnt-know-about-queen-charlotte-180967373/. Accessed August 2019.