Friends, feathered and faithful, deliver picturesque storytime

An extra-special children’s book has “flown in” from Florida and landed in the laps of youngsters at the Dunham Children’s Learning Center.

“Waiting For Charlie: A Sandhill Crane Story,” featuring photography by the center’s eponym, Robert E. “Bob” Dunham, was introduced to children in a reading at the Madigan Library on Monday.



Newly published, the book stars the sandhill crane family at the Central Florida retirement community where Bob and his wife, Maureen, reside. The children’s book integrates a mix of haiku poetry and scientific facts about sandhill cranes written by Marianne Berkes, a fellow resident of the retirement village. Showcasing Dunham’s vivid photography, the book offers a window onto the sandhill cranes’ world and shares a story of love and loyalty.

Following a reading by librarian Nicole S. Warner that sparked a variety of pint-sized comments and questions about sandhill cranes, the children listened intently as CLC director Barbara J. Albert read Dunham’s inscription in the front of the book:

To the children of the Dunham Children’s Learning Center
May you always enjoy reading and the environment!
Bob Dunham

After a long and distinguished career in higher education, Dunham retired in 1998 from Penn State as senior vice president and dean of the Commonwealth Education System. He served as chairman of the Penn College Board of Directors from 1997 to 2012.