“Did I recently fly across the Atlantic Ocean in this supershirt with cape?” asked “SuperReader Miss Joy”. “Did I recently appear as AquaWoman in Kutztown Community Pool in this neon wetsuit?,” she asked. The 65 costumed children giggled when she said “yes” to both.
A “Superhero Training Camp” kicked off summer reading at Kutztown Community Library’s summer reading program, “Every Hero Has a Story,” on Thursday, June 11. Eighty five excited heroes customized their own costumes (mask, shield, cape and arm bands) while watching “BIG Hero 6.”
“A hero is someone ordinary who does something extraordinary. Every day, every person has the opportunity to be a hero. A heroic act can be as simple as giving someone a kind word. I’m excited that this summer we can show people of all ages how easy it is to be a hero through the stories told by a variety of community, animal, art, historic, entertainment and superheroes. I was excited to see heroes even at the program today. I saw adults and children helping each other with costume making – that is heroic helping,” said Joy Newswanger, youth services librarian.
The summer reading program is for people of all ages from June 8 – August 15. A variety of family programming is available throughout the week from toddler and preschool story times to elementary programs on Thursday mornings, teen programs on Thursday afternoons and more. Lehigh Valley Therapy Dogs, Cartoonist Entertainer DC Perry, Magician-Juggler Al Grout, Bug Hero Specialist Professor Greg Setliff and more will be featured in upcoming programs.
One goal of the program is to make sure children do not lose reading skills acquired over the past school year. Preventing this loss is simple – encourage children to read during the summer months. Another goal is to simply encourage everyone to find enjoyment in a good book.
Children from birth through high school can join the Summer Reading Club and keep track of the time they spend reading in order to earn prizes and raffle tickets for various items. Reading magazines, newspapers, comic books, and even listening to audio books counts, and very young children can have books read to them. Any child or teen that completes an entire reading map will be entered in the grand prize drawing for special prizes.
Summer reading isn’t just for the kids, though; adults can also take part in their own summer reading program which involves weekly raffles for gift cards to local businesses.
We hope you will join us in reading this summer. Visit www.kutztownlibrary.org to see a complete list of programs and events. The library is located at 70 Bieber Alley in Kutztown.
