CASS COUNTY— The children of Cass County will soon have an opportunity to make their own stuffed and furry friends, thanks to the Cass District Library.

The library system will host stuffed animal workshop storytimes at its various locations in late December. For the event, the Cass District Library partnered with Noah’s Ark Animal Workshop, based in Illinois. Children 10 and younger are invited by the library to attend and build their own stuffed animal, while also having a book read to them.

The main branch in Cassopolis will host the event at 1 p.m. Dec. 27, the Howard brand will host it at 1 p.m. Dec. 28, the Mason/Union Branch will host the workshop at 1 p.m. Jan. 3 and the Edwardsburg branch will host it at 1 p.m. Jan. 4.

Pre-registration is required for the event, as each session will only have 20 spaces available.

“It’s similar to that store Build-a-Bear in the mall,” said marketing coordinator for the Cass District Library April Hughes. “All the kids will get a stuffed animal that will have a rainbow star in it that they can make a wish on. They will stuff the animal themselves before it zips up.”

Each stuffed animal will come with a commemorative “birth certificate” and a take home bag.

Hughes said the library got the idea to host the stuffed animal workshops after receiving a flier from Noah’s Ark Animal Workshop in the mail.

“We thought, ‘hey, we’ve never done anything like this at the library before,’ and it looked like a fun activity for preschool kids up to grade school,” Hughes said. “[Noah’s Ark] ties [the program] in with a book, so there was a literacy aspect that was perfect for us.”

For the story time aspect of the workshop, children will be read the book “Someone Walks By: The Wonders of Winter Wildlife” written by Polly Carlson-Violes, which teaches children factually correct information about winter animals.

“We felt it tied in with the theme really well,” Hughes said of the book. “Hopefully the kids will learn something new and be introduced to winter animals and what they are doing.”

The workshops are being sponsored by the Howard Branch Friends of the Library and the Kathryn Sehy Memorial Fund in honor of Johnie Rodebush. Because of their contributions, the workshops are free for all children in attend.

“The program was a bit pricier than our budget normally allows for, so I’m glad we were able to have donors,” Hughes said. “I think it’s good to have programs like these to encourage kids to come to library regularly to see what we have to offer and expose them to books at a young age. It lets them know that reading can be fun and educational.”

To preregister for the program, contact the Cass District Library at (269) 357-7822.