Photo courtesy of Hoover Public Library.
Stormtroopers visit the Hoover Public Library as part of the 2016 Sci-Fi Fantasy Fest. The library’s 2019 summer reading kickoff event on May 17 will have a Star Wars theme.
The Hoover Public Library will kick off its 2019 children and teens’ summer reading program with a Star Wars-themed event May 17.
The library will offer games, crafts and other activities from 7-9 p.m., children’s coordinator Jeremy Davis said. They are trying to line up characters dressed in Star Wars attire and have activities tied to the Star Wars movies, cartoon series and other spinoff shows, Davis said. They also may have a Star Wars LEGO station because LEGOs are so popular with kids, he said.
About 1,000 people usually attend the kickoff event each year, Davis said.
The overall theme for this year’s summer reading program is “a universe of stories,” following a space theme, he said.
There will be three big weekend programs:
► A Buzz Lightyear event June 15, tied to the release of “Toy Story 4” in movie theaters June 21.
► A junior space camp with science, technology, engineering and math activities June 29.
► A moon program July 20 celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first lunar landing.
There also will be eight weeks of weekday programs (Tuesday, Wednesdays and Thursdays) in the Hoover Library Theatre between June 4 and July 25.
The first weekday program will be an animal show, but there also will be puppet shows, magic shows, children’s musicians Roger Day and Lucky Diaz, a balloon artist, a Jedi training session and a science program featuring “Mr. Molecule.”
All the programs are geared for children ages 2 to 12, but they will be open to anyone until they fill up, Davis said. Attendance at the programs varies, but there will be seven weekday shows each week in the 250-seat theater, accommodating up to 1,750 people over the course of each week, Davis said. Admission is first come, first-served.
Of course, a highlight of the summer reading program is the opportunity for kids to track the number of pages they read in books over the summer. Children are eligible for prizes as they read certain numbers of pages, beginning with 200 pages and working up to 500, 1,000 and 1,500 pages, Davis said.
Over the past five to seven years, there have been about 5,000 children and teens participating in the summer reading program each year, and about 1,500 of them make it to the 500-page mark, which makes them eligible to enter a drawing for a bicycle, Davis said.
Children and teens can keep track of the number of pages read on an app provided by the library, on the library’s website or on a paper log, he said. They’ll note the names of the books they read and the number of pages in the books.
The idea behind the summer reading program is to help prevent the “summer slide,” where students lose ground on reading skills over the summer due to lack of use. It’s an important service the library provides and one that many schools and parents support and promote wholeheartedly, Davis said.
The Hoover Public Library also has a summer reading program for adults, whereby adults can get their name entered into a drawing for prizes every time they read five books. Prizes typically are gift certificates to area restaurants and businesses. Last year’s adult summer reading program drew about 850 participants, Davis said.
For more information about the summer reading programs, including a full schedule of activities, go to hooverlibrary.org or call the children’s department at 444-7830.
