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 Balls, rings, clubs – and laughter – flew through the air as more than 100 people squeezed into the children’s reading room at the Royersford Free Public Library last Wednesday for the kickoff of the summer reading program.
The gathered crowd, from infants to grandparents, enjoyed the antics of the Juggling Hoffmans, a husband and wife duo, for about an hour. The varied audience was a reflection of this year’s summer program at the Royersford facility.
“Everybody can do something,” noted children’s librarian Nancy Niggel. With the theme “Get a Clue @ Your Library,” the summer reading program offers special activities and incentives for children ages 0 to 11; young people ages 12 to 18, and even for adults.
New this year are three “Tween2Teen” events, exclusively for young adult readers ages 12 to 18. On Wednesday, June 27, at 2 p.m., the library will host “The Best Pizza in Town Puzzle Tournament.” Youth will taste test a variety of local pizzerias’ pies and vote on their favorite while challenging their friends for the title of Jigsaw Genius. Registration is requested by June 22.
A henna body art workshop will be held Wednesday, July 18, also at 2 p.m. Young people can try a Mendhi tattoo and sample Indian cuisine. Permission slips must be signed and given to the library by a parent or guardian by July 13.
The final Tween2Teen event will be Wednesday, Aug. 15, with Rockin’ Chocolate at 2 p.m. A live band, The Manatawny Ramblers, will present the roots of American music, including blue grass and folk. Young people can sample chocolate fountain snacks while enjoying the show and take a chance on winning one of the fountains. Registration is requested by Aug. 10.
For each of the Tween2Teen events, at least seven participants must be pre-registered or the event will be cancelled.
In addition, teens are invited to participate in the Montgomery County-Norristown Public Library’s teen summer reading program, You Never Know @ Your Library, which continues through Aug. 11. Teens read five books, answer some questions and return their forms to receive a $5 gift certificate from Old Navy, Borders or Wal-Mart.
To register or obtain more information, teens can visit the Teen Zone section of the county library website, www.mc-npl.og, or visit the Royersford Library. Teen receive a t-shirt after reading two books.
Adults age 18 and over can “Clue into Reading” with the county’s adult summer reading club, which also continues through Aug. 11. For each book read, participants fill out an entry form and place it in the raffle bowl to win prize baskets. Audiobooks can be included.
The library is asking adults to offer their recommendations. The entry forms include a place to rate the book and to make comments about the book. At the end of the summer, the library will publish a list of the highest rated books read by the library’s patrons.
Royersford Library is even offering a canine program this summer, presented by Sue Bain of All Good Dogs Obedience School, Limerick. DART – Dogs Are Readers Too! – is a program dedicated to improving children’s reading skills by using certified pet therapy dogs as mentors.
Children who participate read a book of their choice to a DART! dog during one of the group’s library visits. DART! dogs and handlers are members of All Good Dogs Therapy Partners, a group of therapy dogs certified through Bright and Beautiful Therapy Dogs Inc.
Parents may contact the library to preregister their child for a 15-minute session during one of the DART! visits. Sessions are for one child reader, one canine listener and the dog’s handler. No parents, siblings or groups may be included. The program is open to independent, school-aged readers. Parent permission slips are available at the library and must be presented before reading with a dog.
DART! dogs will visit Royersford Library on Tuesdays, June 26, July 17, July 31 and Aug. 14. Each session is from 6 to 7 p.m., followed by an obedience demonstration at about 7:15 p.m. The obedience demonstrations are open to the public. Preregistration is not required for the demonstrations.
And of course the summer is chock-full of storytimes, family nights, weeklong science programs, reading groups, and other special programs. All children receive a t-shirt after reading 10 books. When children read five books (or five times spend 20 minutes reading a chapter book), they earn a raffle ticket for a chance at one of the special prizes to be awarded by drawing at the end of the summer.
When children register for the summer program, they receive information on the summer reading programs offered by Harleysville National Bank and Commerce Bank. Both banks reward children with $1 for each book read, up to 10 books.
The summer program concludes Wednesday evening, Aug. 22, with the prize drawing rally.
All activities are held at the Royersford Free Public Library, 200 S. Fourth Ave. The library is open Monday to Thursday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and closed Sundays. For more information call 610-948-7277 or visit www.mc-npl.org.
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