It often seems to me that summer stretches on luxuriously long, perhaps taking a slower pace in the warm days. That is, until after Independence Day, then it flies by! We’re actually heading into our last week of Summer Reading Club programs, July 23-27. Can you believe it?
The whole family will enjoy visits from Bring the Farm to You, comedy juggler Mike Hemmelgarn, balloon magician Erica Carlson, and the Bugman. Kids (and grown-ups) of all ages will find something fun and learn something new at these events. These events all take place at 6:30 p.m., a perfect time to get the family together after work and join us for some library fun.
Kids ages 6-11 will have a couple opportunities to get moving in the upcoming week, starting with a Let’s Dance at the Orange Branch Library which features a visit from the Delaware Arts Castle on Monday, July 23 at 2 p.m. Meanwhile, we’ll be getting creative at the Delaware Main Library. Cartoonist Steve Harpster will be teaching us to draw some cool cartoon animals. Summer readers will want to be prompt for this program, though. The doors will close, and we’ll get started at 2:10 p.m. sharp. Later in the week, the Ostrander Branch Library will be taking a journey through the history of music and trying out some super cool instruments on Wednesday, July 25, at 2 p.m. Finally, kids ages 6-11 can wrap up their week with us at the Powell Branch Library when Preservation Parks stops by on Thursday, July 26, at 4 p.m.
Teens can learn a new skill on Wednesday, July 25, at 2 p.m. They can either take up the ukulele at the Orange Branch Library or put their culinary skills to the test with cupcake decorating at the Delaware Main Library. On Friday, July 27, things take a creative turn for teens. White Dragon Paper Art will be at the Ostrander Branch Library at 2 p.m., where teens can get their hands dirty and make their own paper art. Later that afternoon, the Powell Branch Library will have teens making paintings and mixed media pieces inspired by their favorite music.
If you haven’t visited us yet this summer, there’s always something going on whether Summer Reading Club is in full swing or not. There’s still plenty of time to sign up and earn prizes for the reading hours the kids in your life log. Those can be recorded and redeemed for prizes through Aug. 4.
Take a break this summer to read with the children in your life. Here are a few titles great for the tween group (Ages 8-12):
• “The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl” by Stacy McAnulty. Surviving a lightning strike that has given her genius-level math skills, 12-year-old Lucy is offered entry into college but reluctantly takes her grandmother’s advice to attend one year of middle school, make a friend, join a club and read a non-math book.
• “Rosetown” by Cynthia Rylant. In 1972, Flora Smallwood, nine, copes with her parents’ separation with the help of her friends, Yury and Nessie, a new pet, and the familiar routines of life in Rosetown, Indiana.
• “Breakout” by Kate Messner. From multiple perspectives, tells of a time capsule project and the middle schoolers who contribute, including future journalist Nora Tucker and newcomer Elidee Jones, whose brother is in the local prison.
• “The Bad Guys” by Aaron Blabey. A group of animal companions who look bad but perform good deeds overcome their inborn natures to work together for the sake of rescuing hundreds of dogs from a maximum-security dog pound.
• “The Inventors at No. 8” by A.M. Morgan. Twelve-year-olds George, the very unlucky third Lord of Devonshire, and his neighbor, scientist Ada Byron, join forces against a nefarious group of criminals who steal the map to a priceless family heirloom.
