UNION — Librarian Tiffany Derichsweiler has organized her storytime hour to include some lessons in figure drawing for kids on Tuesday, Oct. 10 from 10-11 a.m. at the Union Carnegie Public Library, 182 N. Main St.

During storytime hour, the kids hear a story read to them from a phonetic book for the first half hour, and then the youngsters spend the last half hour doing an activity or art project related to the story.

This time, the storytime theme is “Math in Art: Figure Drawing.” Derichsweiler, a 2008 graduate of Eastern Oregon University, studied art there and thought it would be great to teach some figure drawing fundamentals to children.

“This activity will teach them how math is a part of figure drawing,” Derichsweiler said. “We’ll be talking about foreground, background and perspective.”

The kids will be working on art skills like proportion, compare and contrast.

“For example, if you’re drawing a grown-up in your picture, how big would he or she be? Or, how would you develop a stick figure into a full-figure drawing?” she said.

Derichsweiler said that storytime attendance is usually between six and 16 people, but there’s room for more. The program is geared for kids in the elementary grades and younger.

Olive and Charlotte Brandenberg, daughters of Erik and Amanda Brandenberg of La Grande, have gone to all the storytime events for quite a few years. Their “Grammy” usually takes them to the Union Carnegie Public Library where storytime is held in the Eaton Room.

Charlotte, 7, loves the hands-on part of the storytime hour.

“I like the crafting best at storytime,” she said. “Once I made a little elephant, and my favorite craft I ever made was a unicorn mask. I used little sticks and markers to make it.”

Her sister Olive, 10, is also a big fan of storytime at the library.

“I look forward to crafting too,” she said. “My favorite thing at storytime last week was when we made dinosaur masks. First, we heard a fun story about dinosaurs, and that story was brand new to me. I really think other kids should go and see how fun storytime is.”

Derichsweiler couldn’t agree more.

“We’re always open to the community,” she said. “The more the merrier, and we’d love to have more people come and join us.”

For more information on future storytime events, call Derichsweiler at 541-562-5811 or visit them online.

The Union library also offers programs for adults. The next is Monday, Oct. 9, when participants will make gourmet caramel apples.

The gathering starts at 5 p.m. Attendance is free. Space is limited to 10, so call the library at 541-562-5811 to reserve a spot.