'Sir Ryan's Quest' Author Speaks to Kids at Library

“I have a cool job because I get to go from library to library and make noise,” Jason Deeble said. His audience of children watched as he picked up a garbage can lid shield and banged it with his yard-stick sword. “If you did that in a library, you’d get kicked out. I get invited to libraries to do stuff like that.”

Deeble is the author of Sir Ryan’s Quest, the children’s book that inspired the Ledyard Public Libraries to make this school vacation week “Medieval Week.” On Tuesday, Deeble read his story to the children, who packed the Bill Library’s meeting room.

The story tells of a boy named Ryan, who is given a quest by the king of pots after crawling into a kitchen cabinet. He then roams the house, which he imagines as the landscape of a medieval adventure, gathering help and equipment.

As he read, Deeble paused to show the children Sir Ryan’s gear. Some of it, like the cooking-pot helmet, he said he borrowed from Sir Ryan. Other things he had to find for himself. His found his “shield” at Home Depot, he told the children. Unfortunately, he also had to buy the “big metal round thing” underneath it, he said, which he just puts trash in.

Deeble also encouraged his listeners to use their imagination. “Sir Ryan’s Quest is a story about a boy who talks to a pot,” he said, referring to the beginning of Sir Ryan’s make-believe quest. “You have to use your imagination.”

The group practiced using their imaginations with a drawing game. Children took turns making three shapes or squiggles on a piece of paper. Deeble then connected the markings and turned them into a picture. Once he was finished, he signed the drawing and gave it to the child who started it.

Children were also allowed to put on Sir Ryan’s gear and pose as knights.

At the end of the meeting, copies of Sir Ryan’s Quest were sold. The crowd bought every last book that Deeble had brought, and some parents made arrangements to buy more.

The southeastern Connecticut libraries get together every year to do “One Book, One Region” for adults, Children’s Librarian Nancy Brewer said, but they also run a similar program for kids. They select one book and try to get as many children as possible to read it.

Sir Ryan’s Quest was this year’s book, and the focus of Medieval Week. “We’re hoping we can get the book into the hands of a lot of children,” Brewer said.

It’s not too late either to promote the book or to enjoy more medieval-themed activities. On Thursday, children in grades K-3 can take part in crafts at the Gales Ferry Library from 10:30 a.m. to noon.  And the Lego castle contest that began on Monday at Bill Library is also still open. Children can bring a Lego castle to the library or build one there. The winner will be decided by votes cast by visitors, and will receive a copy of Sir Ryan’s Quest.