June 16, 2004
Library picnic features books and bulldozers
Summer Reading Club kicks off with lunch on the lawn with Woodmere construction crew
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Books and summertime are a natural match, or so say the youth librarians at the Traverse Area District Library.
And hundreds of area kids show their agreement every year by signing up for the library's Summer Reading Club. With beaches beckoning and playtime calling, avid readers still find time to crack a book, give a report at the library and earn prizes. At the end of the eight-week program, readers and their families can attend an open house celebration at the library on August 14.
"I think it keeps you in the school mode, still, so you don't forget what books you like," said Lauren Pflughoeft, 9, who has just started reading the Harry Potter series this week.
A local institution with roots dating back to the 1960s, the Summer Reading Club kicked off this week with a special event: Lunch with the Woodmere Road Construction Crew. The lunch tied easily into the club's construction theme this year; previous year's theme have included the circus, space and Australia.
Mixing hot dogs with front loaders, young readers and parents mingled with the construction teams who have been renovating the road in front of the library this spring. When asked, the crews revealed that the backhoe and front loader each guzzle a hundred gallons of gasoline a day. In addition, the brick layers noted that they were putting down more than 8,000-square-feet of brick for the streetscape portion of the renovation.
"The challenge is keeping the through traffic open so people can get to the library," said Mike Whitten, a superintendent with Bernie Johnson based in Leroy, Mich.
The picnic lunch on the front lawn of the library drew some 260 participants, with more than 100 kids signing up for the club. Enrollment is still open for other interested readers.
"Usually 300-400 people sign up with about 200 people actually completing the program," said Christopher Spears, a children's librarian at the main library.
Starting Sunday, participants can give up to two reports a week to a librarian or volunteer. This report outlines the basics of the book, while the librarian or volunteer also encourages the reader to discuss their favorite scene or character. After giving five reports, children receive a Certificate of Achievement.
Participants list the books they have read on a card they received at enrollment. They may read as many books as they want during the program. Once a week, readers are eligible for a reward after giving a report. Prizes in the past have included bookmarks, passes to the Civic Center Pool or the Clinch Park Zoo and coupons to area restaurants for a meal or dessert.
"I can see where this is a nice incentive for them to read regularly," said Amy Pflughoeft of Traverse City. "It gets us into the library on a regular basis, which we want to do anyway but if we have this in mind it helps."
A main goal of the club is to maintain skills of new readers, who could lose proficiency during the two-month break. This concern motivated Dale George of Traverse City to have her son Nathan, 5, enroll Monday afternoon.
"He's just started to learn to read on his own so I like this to encourage him," said George, whose older daughter, Brianna, 12, also enrolled. "He informed me recently that having fun isn't hard if you have a library card, he's heard that on TV or on PBS. So we got him his own library card."
The other goal is to foster a love of reading among students of all ages.
"I did it last year and I liked the reading," said Noah Mitchell-Ward, 8. "I already liked to read a lot, I read a lot of Magic Treehouse books last summer."