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GREENBURGH, N.Y. Crawling around on the floor wearing a shirt embellished with the word "cutie" on the front, 11-month-old Isabella Ong hugged her grandmother's leg. Isabella is one of the Greenburgh Library's youngest patron, and on a cold Wednesday afternoon, she and her grandmother, Catalina, had the children's section almost to themselves.
"Isabella has been coming since she was a few months old," said Gail Fell, a children's librarian who first met Isabella before the infant took her first steps.
Isabella stood in front of a giant stuffed bear. Holding Catalina's hand, she stumbled towards a bookshelf successfully and looked at the book titles while hugging her grandmother. She later plopped onto the floor with a wooden shaped toy and played as Catalina helped her insert the correct shapes into their corresponding places.
"She loves it here," said Catalina Ong. "She really enjoys it. She does everything. She plays with the toys, she looks in the books, she's walking. She enjoys it."
Catalina, who lives in Dutchess County, takes care of Isabella during the day, and takes her to the library a few times per week. Sometimes they attend music class together and, other times, they just interact with other children Isabella's age.
Isabella resides in Greenburgh with her parents, and will turn one-year-old on Jan. 22, 2012.
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