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span class="inline inline-center">Engrossed: A little girl reads a children'€™s book in Rimba Baca library in Cilandak, South Jakarta. The 3-year-old library has gained popularity among parents who want to provide an alternative activity for their children. JP/Awo

His little fingers finally grabbed one book entitled Beruang Bernard vs. Ikan Hiu (Bernard Bear vs the Shark).

'€œRead this for me, mom,'€ he said, handing the book to his mother.

His mother, 40-year-old Dian Suprapto, read the story to Fatih and occasionally asked him about the pictures in the book.

'€œWhere is the shark, Fatih?'€ she asked; Fatih pointed to the shark picture enthusiastically.

Still listening to his mother read, Fatih browsed for another book and asked his mother to read that one.

Dian said she had been reading books to Fatih before he went to sleep since he was little. '€œSo, although he cannot read yet, he already loves books,'€ she said.

Dian said before learning about Rimba Baca library, she used to buy books for Fatih. '€œBooks are expensive and Fatih usually only likes to listen to the stories once,'€ she said.

The abundant collection of children'€™s books in the library, she said, was one of her reasons for signing up for a membership and visiting every weekend.

'€œWe have become regular visitors, almost every weekend if we do not have any special occasion,'€ she said.

Located in a housing complex at Jl. RSPP No. 21B in Cilandak, South Jakarta, Rimba Baca has become an alternative location for reading and spending free time at the weekend for both parents and children.

Rimba Baca owner Suziani Fitriyana said her library had around 5,000 books, mostly for children.

She said the children'€™s books were categorized based on age group, comprising babies to 3-year-old, 4-year-old to eight, and nine to 12.

'€œWe also have books for adults, for the parents who bring their children here,'€ she said.

Suziani said she applied a membership system in the library, charging every member Rp 350,000 (US$28) per year.

'€œWe have 350 members as of today,'€ she said, adding that members could visit the library at anytime and borrow five books each time they visited.

She said non-members were also welcome and could pay Rp 30,000 per day, but they could not take books home., Suziani said to enliven the library, she also held various children'€™s activities.

'€œWe have yoga for children every Sunday and other activities, like art and crafts, once in awhile,'€ she said.

The homey and cheerful design of the library, along with small chairs, soft toys and colorful wall paints, makes Rimba Baca a place little bookworms love to nestle. The library also provides a room for breastfeeding moms, who can also put a sleeping baby to bed.

Dian says such a child-friendly library suits her needs, she does not like to take her only child to shopping malls every weekend and has difficulty finding a proper playground in the open air for children.

While her son can enjoy his time surrounded by the books in the library, Dian said she also loved it as she could borrow books for herself.

'€œI usually borrow five books, three books for Fatih and two for me,'€ she said.

Sasi, another visitor, echoed the same fondness, claiming the library was a good alternative for a family holiday rather than staying at home or going to the mall.

The mother-of-three said she could bring all her children to the library during school holidays.

'€œIf I do not have enough time to read here, I usually borrow the books to take home,'€ she said.

Sasi, who has been a member for the last six months, said borrowing books from the library was much cheaper than buying them.

'€œImported books, especially, are very expensive,'€ she said.

'€” JP/Corry Elyda.