Part of Rick Kinnebrew’s job is scaring children.

He doesn’t look scary. He’s five-foot-eight, slightly balding and peers through delicate glasses.

But in the right setting, he evokes wide-eyed gasps and shouts.

Kinnebrew is the children’s outreach librarian at the Evanston Public Library. He visits after-school programs around the city almost every weekday afternoon, armed with books, his guitar, and the stories he knows by heart.

Children call him “Mr. Rick” – “Kinnebrew” was “too clunky” for kids, he said.

During a stormy Friday afternoon, children ranging from kindergartners to fifth graders crowded on a blue rug around him in the Oakton Elementary School cafeteria.

“Since it’s so rainy and windy outside, let’s have a scary story today, ” Kinnebrew said before he began a tale called “The Skeleton Woman.”

“Now remember, I don’t have a book for this, so what does that mean?” he asked.

“Imagination!” some of the children shouted.

“That’s right,” Kinnebrew said. “Create the pictures in your head.”

Kinnebrew said the children are usually attentive when he tells stories.

“It’s great because I get to be the special guest,” he said. “They’re all on good behavior.”

Kinnebrew studied library science at Dominican University in River Forest, Ill., and wanted to be a reference librarian. He worked at the Chicago Public Library as the director of NatureConnections, a section of nature books and artifacts for children to explore.

“It was a dream job – I had huge responsibility and lots of money to throw around,” he said.

But Kinnebrew’s administrative duties kept him from interacting with children, so five years ago he started working in Evanston Public Library’s children’s department.

Kinnebrew also leads Young Evanston Storytellers, a joint venture between the library and the Family Center in Evanston/Skokie School District 65. He teaches children 10 years old and older the art of storytelling, and the group performs around the community.

“He’s very thoughtful and responsive to both kids and adults,” said Laura Antolin, a children’s librarian at Evanston Public Library. “I think of him as serious, but with a funny side. He has a great sense of humor that sneaks in under the radar.”

Kinnebrew said he looks for stories with a “positive African-American hero.” One such figure is Elizabeth Cotton, a self-taught guitar prodigy. After Kinnebrew finished “The Skeleton Woman,” he told the children about Cotton and invited them to sing one her songs, “Shake Sugaree.”

The voices remained tentative after a few choruses, and Kinnebrew realized the key must have been too low for the children to sing along.

“Hold on,” he said, adjusting his guitar. “Let’s all find a key to sing in together.”

Reach Sarah Sumadi at [email protected].