A Story Time Experience

How do you keep a room full of kids under the age of 3 engaged for 20 minutes?

Impossible, right? Well, this task, which one might think defies laws of the universe, is accomplished effectively Tuesday mornings at the .

Librarian Mary McKillen-Wright is the host of "Patty Cakes," which gives young children the chance to listen to a couple of stories and get moving to all-time kid favorites such as "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes."

McKillen-Wright has spent the last three years at the Clayton Community Library, but has hosted story times throughout Contra Costa County for 20 years.

Her style during "Patty Cakes" varies greatly. Sometimes she's loud, other times she whispers; sometimes she reads from a book, other times she sings songs; sometimes she stands still, other times she moves around as much as the kids watching her.

"You have to sense the audience and make changes when appropriate," McKillen-Wright said. "There are mood swings, so when it's slow you have to speed it up and when it gets wild you have to slow it down."

It works.

Francesca Sampognaro takes 2-year-old grandson Ryan and 3-month-old granddaughter Evangeline to "Patty Cakes."

"She's great," Sampognaro said. "(Ryan) really likes to come. The stories are fun and he gets a chance to play with some of the kids."

Julie Chan, who moved to the area from Los Angeles in May, brings her 2-year-old son, Avery, and 7-month-old, Coraline, to see McKillen-Wright.

"They don't like just being at home all day and here they get to observe (McKillen-Wright) and interact with the other kids," Chan said.

"Patty Cakes," doesn't benefit just the kids. It also provides a place for parents to get together and talk.

Diana Stolarz brings her 7-month-old, Gwenevere, and said her favorite part of the weekly meeting is talking with the other parents.

"Today, I talked with another parent who also has the same age child and we talked about how we are going to baby proof the house," she said.

"Patty Cakes" starts at 11 a.m. and will continue every Tuesday until March 10.

Watch a video from "Patty Cakes" in our daily Patchcast at 6 p.m. Thursday.