Children donning their favorite superhero regalia filled the Boone Area Library June 9 for the library’s annual Summer Reading Program kickoff party.
The party included superhero-themed games, activities, prizes and snacks, and it allowed young library patrons to sign up for the program and learn how they can earn prizes by reading books during their summer break.
This year, the kickoff party welcomed more summer readers than last year’s party. There were 134 children and teens who signed up for the program at the kickoff party, which is an improvement over the 102 participants who signed up at last year’s kickoff party.
Prizes for the program vary by age group, but they include gift baskets filled with toys for preschool and grade school children, and gift cards for teens and adults. The more books the participants read, the greater their chances for winning a prize.
Many of the prizes were funded by the Boone Area Library and the Berks County Library Association, and other prizes were donated by local businesses.
According to the American Library Association, summer reading programs date back to the 1890s, and were created to help children keep up their reading skills during the summer months and to “develop the habit of reading.”
Libraries across the country share the same theme for the program, “Every Hero has a Story,” which is created by the Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP). The CSLP is an organization that includes representatives from public libraries in every state.
The organization aims to reduce costs for public libraries by creating high-quality promotional materials for the summer reading program through a contracted vendor.
Children and Teen Program Coordinator Lisa Kraljevich decorated the library with some of the superhero-themed promotional materials, but library staff members are at liberty to create activities and decide the types of prizes that will be awarded for those who complete the program.
Local artist Sharon McGinley also helped decorate by painting the windows of the library with comic-book action words and the front door with a female superhero.
After passing through the painted doors at the library, kickoff party attendees made their way toward the back of the library to wait for the evening of superhero fun to begin.
Volunteer Jeremy Schinski, 18, wore a mask and cape as he opened the door to let anxious children into the library’s event space, which is where attendees could tour the library’s “superhero training camp.”
Children were invited wear their favorite superhero clothing and they also decorated their own capes and masks after registering, which made the library seem like a convention for miniature caped crusaders.
In addition to making costumes, the children played several games. One game had the mini superheroes walk across a balance beam that had “hot lava,” underneath, and they received a comic book for completing the task. In another game, children picked up “kryptonite” with Popsicle sticks and dropped it into a small hole in a box, or “kryptonite containment system.”
The library will continue to hold weekly meetings Tuesdays at 6 p.m. until the End of Summer Reading Party, which will be held August 11.
Each meeting will feature special guest who will provide educational entertainment for the children. Among the weekly guests are a traveling animal show, music and theater performers, and hometown heroes including local police and fire rescue workers.
There is still plenty of time for children, teens and adults to participate in their respective programs. Children and teens can sign up for the program at the library, and they can also pick up a form use to track their reading activity.
Adults do not need to sign up for the program; they can simply fill out a form to review each library book they read over the summer.
To learn more about the Boone Area Library’s Summer Reading Program, visit www.boonearealibrary.com, call 610-582-5666 or stop by the library during regular business hours.
