Summer Dreaming, Summer Reading!

Dream Big Read!, the Groton Public Library summer reading program kicked off, appropriately, on the eve of summer, the Solstice with music and play, song and theatre, mask making and balloons and books and more books. 

The library’s summer reading program is not just for the very young but for all ages, birth to adult. The way it works: a reader registers for the appropriate age level program – child, teen or adult – either in person at the library or online at grotonpl.org. Readers keep track of their book title and the amount of time they read each day. For every three hours of reading, prizes are awarded. The program ends Aug. 4 and on Aug. 10, at the program party, a grand prize will be awarded. Online registration allows readers to track reading time online. 

“This pile of books? Oh, I guess I could read them in probably a couple of hours. I’m a quick reader,” said 12-year-old Madeline Christensen as she wrestled with a stack, adjusting her glasses and deciding where to begin. “This one might actually take a while,” she said pointing out a thick hardcover, ‘The Secret of Platform 13,’ by Eva Ibbotson.

The children’s room was buzzing with activity as kids signed up for the reading program browsed the stacks, made crafts, hung out and, yes, read. 

Four-year-old Ian Richardson of Noank helped mother Amy check out books at the kiosk. And quite adeptly, scanning his library card and the bar code on each book as he explained that yes, he liked to read a lot of books, adding, matter-of-factly that he also would like to be a dad and “have sons.”    

Library manager of public service Jennifer Miele said this is the first year for online registration and tracking and was borne out of necessity. There are some kids, she said, that do not have transportation to the library and  kids are busy with camp, sports and other activities and getting to the library to track their progress isn’t convenient. 

“It’s an incentive that pulls them in,” she said. “Our program has morphed to keep up with the age.” 

And the other incentive has got to be the promise of prizes.   

The Solstice Festival

The library’s 4thannual Summer Solstice Festival featured performances by Double Vision Theater Company, the Mystic Paper Beasts and the Four Strings Ukulele Band of Southern Connecticut. The solstice event was funded by a grant from the Charter Oak Federal Credit Union. 

And those events were preceded by mask-making and craft activities for children and balloon art by the Lezagna Family Clowns, a popular attraction for kids and their parents, too. 

“Everyone loves a balloon animal,” Ed Lezon said, as his wife twisted up a pink duck. Or was that a flamingo?