This summer, children will have a chance to draw graphic novels, make robots and hang out with canine friends at Powell River Public Library’s revamped summer reading club.
“What we tried to do this year is give the program as much punch as we could, so this is a bit of an experiment for us,” explained chief librarian Charlie Kregel. “We’re looking forward to seeing the results.”
Mastermind behind the project is Deb Zagwyn, children’s services coordinator, along with student worker Sarah Barton-Bridges.
This year’s theme for the provincially-sponsored program is Up, Up and Away!, but Barton-Bridges said the team applied the guidelines more liberally than usual. “We’re putting our own spin on it, I guess you could say,” she explained.
Incorporated into the program are new activities such as Read to Dogs, in which children read books to licensed guide dogs. “Research shows that it’s quite a bit easier and less intimidating for a child to read when they’re reading to a dog than to a person,” explained Kregel, “so it takes some of the nerves out of the equation.”
Old favourites such as the Battle of the Books, where children compete to see who can read the most, and the Best Book Club Ever, where children are read part of a novel and given a copy of their own to finish at the end, will also be featured. All children from preschool to grade seven are welcome.
The program’s format also differs from previous years, where the same activity took place twice and participants decided which to attend.
“This year, we actually have more variety in the program, but we’re offering it on fewer days,” said Kregel. “It allows us to use our scarce resources to provide a much larger summer reading club experience.”
Ongoing sessions such as Storytime happen on Wednesday and Thursday, while Friday plays host to a variety of workshops, which include everything from working with watercolours to digging for “dinosaur bones.”
Holding the program less often also allows it to go much longer, from July 3 to August 16. The club finishes off with a four-day visit from the Travelling Puppet Show and a Grande Finale Space Sleepover in the library.
“Our main goal is just to encourage literacy,” said Barton-Bridges. “By doing these new workshops, we’re just thinking of more creative ways to bring that about.”
Besides helping keep school skills sharp over the holidays, the summer reading club provides a way for children to see reading as fun. As a reading club alumni, Barton-Bridges knows this first-hand.
“I loved the summer reading club when I did it, and I thought that the people who ran it were the coolest people ever,” she said, laughing. Now, she said she’s excited to provide others with the same experience.
For more information about the summer reading club, readers can visit the library website.
