By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
Maria Simon won’t be cavorting around in an astronaut’s costume this year, starring in packed school assemblies to promote the Wood County District Public Library’s summer reading program.
Schools are closed and day cares have just reopened. The library itself is closed. So, there’ll be no opera nor rock ‘n’ roll nor circuses nor bounce houses in the atrium.
The pandemic can’t stop the summer reading program.
Young readers are being encouraged to “Imagine Your Story!” Young readers up to 11 can sign up now at wcdpl.readsquared.com.
And they’re getting some help. The Friends of the Library are purchasing free books to give out to participants. And Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, launched in April, is there to provide more free books and inspiration.
Simon, the Youth Services Librarian, will launch a series of Facebook Live story times on Thursday (June 4) at 10:30 at facebook.com/WCDPL. This will be the first of four she’ll present throughout the summer. On Thursday she’ll read Mara Alperin’s adaptation of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, illustrated by Kate Daubney. Immediately following the story time 100 copies of the book, purchased by the Friends, will be available free program at the curbside pickup at the Bowling Green and Walbridge libraries on a first-come, first-serve basis to those who have registered for the summer reading. Copies of the other books Simon shares on Facebook Live will be given out the same way.
The Facebook Live event will be the first Simon has done. She and other Children’s Place staff have been recording stories throughout at the stay-at-home period and posting those on the library’s Facebook page.
Those were done at home. This will be done at the library with better lighting. “We’ve all had to learn new tricks to keep going forward,” Simon said.
She’ll be able to use her crew of puppets, though that means Watson, her dog, will not be able to join her.
The story time giveaways are among the incentives for children participating in “Imagine Your Story!” The library will also be conducting random raffle-drawings for registered readers and selecting age-appropriate titles for the winners throughout the summer. Winners will be notified by email, and will pick up their prizes from the library’s’ curbside pickup stations. A final raffle prize will be drawn in August after the Summer Reading program ends on July 31.
Simon said she’s still trying to figure how the final Cinderella’s Ball will be conducted online.
Kids take a step closer to Cinderella’s Castle with each 10 minutes spent reading. Each of the missions is tied to a fairytale. They can also go on one of eight missions, each with a number of tasks. Completing each task gets them a step closer. The tasks include reading the fairy tale. Another would be reading a non-fiction book related to some aspect of the tale, like a book about minerals and mining for “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.” Other tasks call for writing their own story inspired by the fairy tale. Tasks may also include cleaning a room, inspired by “Cinderella,” or donate toys they’ve outgrown for “Beauty in the Beast.” Or they can video chat with a grandparent for “Little Red Riding Hood.”
Details are available at Connect WCDPL Family magazine.
The library has also recruited 25 Volunteens. They’ve already met over Google Meets. They are natives to this digital realm, Simon said. It’s an audience she’s eager to keep connected with the library. She’s getting insight into how to do that.
Facebook’s not the way. None of them use it. Some use Instagram. “But they don’t take that seriously,” Simon said. “They’re really all over the map.”
Some only want hard copy books rather than digital. “If
you ask them the books they read, they have a slew of them.”
She is hoping to recruit more virtual volunteens interested in socializing online, and sharing their love of reading with each other, from the Northwood and Walbridge areas.
The volunteens will be contributing to a Flipgrid project, talking about and recommending favorite books. The library has also reached out to “community helpers” to submit their own memories of childhood reading or books they’ve shared with their children. Sheriff Mark Wasylyshyn, Judge Dave Woessner, and Professor Patrick Pauken are among those who have posted short videos.
Simon said the library also is offering resources to help kids and adults understand these troubled times, not just the pandemic but issues of racial inequality. The library is adding to its offerings in those areas.
“This is just an important time to be inspired and get a mental rest,” Simon said. “I’m so lucky to be working with children.” They are resilient and have good senses of humor, she said. “They have a lot to offer. They have their own ideas, their own questions. They want to keep learning.”
