Windsor Plywood French Creek: The PULSE Community Podcast is brought to you in part by Windsor Plywood in French Creek, specializing in hard-to-source interior and exterior home finishing products, including flooring, doors and mouldings, and exterior project materials such as yellow cedar. Windsor Plywood French Creek carries high-quality, responsibly sourced products and is committed to providing outstanding value and personalized one-on-one service to all of our customers: homeowners, do-it-yourselfers, renovators, builders, designers, craftsmen, and contractors. Regardless of the type or size of your project, Windsor can help you bring your vision to life from start to finish. Let Windsor Plywood in French Creek help you with your renovation, new build, or building project. Visit them online or call 752-3122.

The Ballad of Peter & Gracie: Peter and his dog raced here and there, through fields so wide, with dreams in their pockets and stars as their guide. Every day's an adventure under the open sky. In their world of stories, time just flies by.

Peter McCully: Peter pressed his nose against the car window as his mum pulled into the parking lot of the Parksville library. The building looked inviting with its large windows and colourful banners hanging near the entrance.

"I've never been to a library before," Peter said, feeling a little nervous, but also excited.

"You are going to love it," his mum said, with a smile. "It's one of my favourite places in Parksville."

Gracie wagged her tail from the backseat. But Peter's mum shook her head gently. "Sorry, Gracie girl. Dogs have to wait outside unless they're special service dogs, but we'll be back soon. And then we can go for a walk."

Gracie seemed to understand and settled down for a nap in the shade. Inside the library, Peter's eyes grew wide. Books lined the walls from floor to ceiling. There were cosy reading chairs tucked into corners, colourful displays of books about different topics, and even a section with computers. The air smelled like paper and possibilities.

A friendly librarian with glasses and a warm smile approached him. Her name tag read Ms. Smith.

"Welcome to the library. Is this your first visit?" Ms. Smith asked Peter.

Peter nodded, suddenly feeling very shy.

"Well then, let me give you a special tour," Ms. Smith said. "The library is like a treasure chest of adventures, and today you get to find out where all the treasures are hidden."

She led Peter and his mum through the entrance. "This is where we check out books," she explained, pointing to a desk with computers and a machine that looked interesting. "When you find books you want to take home, you bring them here, but first you'll need your very own library card."

"My own card?" Peter asked, perking up.

"Absolutely, every member of our community can have one. It's free and it means you can borrow books, audiobooks, movies, and even use the computers."

Ms. Smith helped Peter's mum fill out a form and within minutes, Peter was holding his very first library card and his name was printed right on it. "Peter Thompson, Parksville Library."

"This is so cool," Peter whispered, running his finger over the letters of his name.

"Now let me show you the children's section," Ms. Smith said. "That's where the magic really happens for readers your age."

They walked past rows of adult books to a brightly coloured area with shorter bookshelves, beanbag chairs, and a reading nook decorated like a cosy tree house. There was even a small stage area for story time.

"Wow," Peter said.

"The children's section is organized to help you find exactly what you're looking for," Ms. Smith said. "See these labels? Picture books are over here. Those are books with lots of illustrations. Early readers are here. Those have bigger words and are great for kids who are just starting to read, and chapter books are over there. Those are for when you're ready for longer stories."

Peter noticed some kids sitting quietly in the reading nook, absorbed in their books. One girl was giggling at something in her book. A younger boy was pointing at pictures and whispering to his dad.

"Everybody's being so quiet," Peter said.

"Well, that's one of our library rules," Ms. Smith said gently. "We use quiet voices so everyone can concentrate on their reading or their work. It's like being respectful of other people's space. You can still talk and ask questions, just softly like we're doing now."

"Oh, I can do that," Peter said in his best quiet voice, which made Ms. Smith smile.

"I knew you could. Now, are there any topics you're especially interested in? We have books about everything you can imagine."

Peter thought for a moment. "I really like animals and I love living near the ocean. Oh, and I want to learn about space."

Ms. Smith's eyes lit up. "Perfect. Let me show you how to find books on those topics. See the numbers on the books? That's called The Decimal System. It's like a special code that helps organize all the books by subject."

She showed Peter the nonfiction section. "Books about animals are in the five hundreds. Ocean books are also in that section, and space books are right here in the five twenties."

Peter pulled out a book about orcas. The cover showed a beautiful whale breaching out of the water near Qualicum Beach. "Can I really take this home?"

"You can borrow many books at a time with your new library card," Ms. Smith said, "and if you need more time to finish reading them, you can renew them on our website or by calling us."

Peter could hardly believe it. His mum laughed. "Maybe we'll start with just a few today."

Ms. Smith showed Peter a few more special areas. "This is our new book section. These just arrived at the library, and over here is our local history section with books about Vancouver Island, your home, Coombs, Parksville, Qualicum Beach. We even have books about the animals that live here."

Peter spotted a book about goats on the roof in Coombs and added it to his growing pile.

"Can I just pick any book I want?" Peter asked.

"Well, that's part of the fun of the library, learning what kind of books you enjoy," Ms. Smith said. "Some people like funny books, some like mysteries, some like books about real things, some like fantasy stories. You might not know what you like until you try reading different kinds of books."

She pulled a few books from a display. "These are some favourites among kids of your age. One is about a dog who goes on adventures. Maybe it would remind you of Gracie, and this one is a funny story about a kid who accidentally turns his teacher into a frog. And this one is about the lifecycle of salmon right here in British Columbia."

Peter looked at each book carefully. He opened them to see the pictures and read a few sentences from each one.

"Take your time," his mum said. "You don't have to decide right away."

Peter noticed that some books had colourful stickers on them. "What do these stickers mean?"

"Great question. Those are awards," Ms. Smith said. "This sticker means the book won the BC Young Readers Choice Award. This one means it was selected as one of the best picture books of the year. It helps people know that lots of other readers really enjoyed the book."

Peter added a book about the adventurous dog to his pile, and then walked slowly through the picture book section. He found a book about building sandcastles and another about a first day of school and one about tide pools.

"I think I have too many," Peter said, looking at the eight books he had collected.

"That's okay," his mum said. "You can always bring them back and get different ones next time. The library will always be here with new adventures waiting."

Ms. Smith led them to a computer near the children's section. "Before you check out, let me show you something else cool. This is our online catalogue. You can use it here at the library or at home on your computer or tablet."

She typed in "dogs" and hundreds of results appeared. "See, if you're looking for something specific, you can search for it here. It will tell you if we have it, and if someone else has checked it out, you can put a hold on it. Then when it comes back, we'll save it for you and send your mum an email."

"Wow. Libraries are really organized," Peter said.

"They have to be. We have thousands of books and we want to make sure everyone can find what they need."

At the checkout desk, Ms. Smith showed Peter how to scan his library card and then scan each book's barcode. The computer beeped with each one.

"The screen shows when each book is due back," she explained. "That gives you three whole weeks to read them. If you finish them sooner, you can bring them back anytime and get new ones." She printed out a receipt with all the due dates. "Keep this somewhere safe so you can remember when to return your books."

Peter carefully placed each book in the library bag his mum had brought. They felt heavy and full of promise.

"One more thing," Ms. Smith said. "We have special programmes here at the library. Every Tuesday afternoon, we have story time for kids your age, and during the summer we have a reading challenge where you can earn prizes for reading books. We also have craft day and movie afternoons, and sometimes authors come to visit and read their books out loud."

"Authors come here to this library?" Peter asked.

"They sure do. Last month we had a woman who writes books about West Coast animals and she brought in real animal fur and feathers for the kids to touch."

Peter made a mental note to ask his mum to bring him to story time.

As they headed toward the exit, Peter noticed a bulletin board covered with flyers about community events, yoga classes, job postings, information about the food bank, and schedules for local activities.

"The library isn't just about books," Ms. Smith said, noticing Peter's interest. "It's a hub for our whole community. People come here to learn, to connect, to find help, and to discover new things."

Back in the car, Gracie greeted Peter with excited kisses. Peter hugged her and then carefully showed her his new books through the window. "Gracie, look, this one is about a dog just like you," he said, holding up the adventure book.

That evening after dinner, Peter spread all his library books out on the living room floor. He couldn't decide which one to read first. Each one looked so interesting.

"Well, why don't you start with the shortest one," his mum suggested. "Then you'll finish it and feel good about reading a whole book."

Peter picked up the tide pool book and settled onto the couch with Gracie curled up beside him. His mum sat next to him and together they began to read about the tiny creatures that live in the rocky pools along Vancouver Island's coast.

As Peter turned each page, learning about sea stars and sea anemones and hermit crabs, he felt something wonderful growing inside of him. It was the joy of learning, the excitement of exploring new worlds without leaving his living room, and the comfort of snuggling with his dog.

"Mum," Peter said, looking up from the book, "can we go to the library every week?"

His mum smiled and ruffled his hair. "I think that sounds like a perfect plan."

Over the next few weeks, the library became one of Peter's favourite places. He learned to search for books on the computer catalogue. He discovered that he loved books about animals and adventures, but also enjoyed silly books that made him laugh. He learned to handle books carefully, to return them on time and to always use his quiet library voice. He even started to recognize other regular library visitors. The older man who always read newspapers in the big comfy chair. The teenager who studied at the same table every day, and the mum with twin babies who came to story time.

The library wasn't just a building full of books. It was a place where everyone in Parksville was welcome. It was where Peter could travel to distant planets, dive deep into the ocean, learn about dinosaurs, or solve mysteries with clever detectives. It was where questions had answers and curiosity was always encouraged and best of all. It was a place Peter could visit again and again, always finding something new to discover.

As Peter drifted off to sleep that night, his new library card tucked safely in his special treasure box, he was already dreaming about which books he would check out next week.

The Ballad of Peter and Gracie: Peter and Gracie, the finest of friends, with tales of wonder that never end. In the pages of books or stars above, they find their magic in laughter and love.

Windsor Plywood French Creek: The PULSE Community Podcast is brought to you in part by Windsor Plywood in French Creek, specializing in hard-to-source interior and exterior home finishing products, including flooring, doors and mouldings, and exterior project materials such as yellow cedar. Windsor Plywood French Creek carries high-quality, responsibly sourced products and is committed to providing outstanding value and personalized one-on-one service to all of our customers: homeowners, do-it-yourselfers, renovators, builders, designers, craftsmen, and contractors. Regardless of the type or size of your project, Windsor can help you bring your vision to life from start to finish. Let Windsor Plywood in French Creek help you with your renovation, new build, or building project. Visit them online or call 752-3122.