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Eye on summer reading
Library keeps all ages cool with books and programs
Friday, July 9, 2010
 Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photos by EMILY BARNES
Jalan Walker, 8, of Waldorf gets into a pirate state of mind during the Afternoon Kids Club at the P.D. Brown library in Waldorf. Jalan and other campers from the Waldorf Christian Learning Center took part in storytime and crafts Wednesday. Helen Moore, director of the center, helped Jalan with the patch.
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The children's center of the P.D. Brown library was the place to be Wednesday during the Afternoon Kids Club.
Clusters of kids escaped the heat and took to the high seas with a pirate-themed story time.
Joe Stover, a children's assistant with the library, leads the club for elementary school-aged children each week during the summer. Tuesdays he's at the Potomac branch in Indian Head, Wednesdays he's in Waldorf and Thursdays are spent at the La Plata branch.
The club, like the many other programs organized by the county library, is designed to keep kids used to reading.
"You want them to succeed in school and not lose that momentum for reading," Emily Ferren, director of the Charles County Public Library, said on why it is important for kids to continue reading even while enjoying summer vacation.
"Summer reading programs lead to a lot of options for everybody," Ferren said, pointing out that the library has programs for all ages, from infants to adults.
"It's important to keep them engaged and getting them used to coming to the library," Stover said of young children, some of whom were waiting for the activities to start by sprawling out on the floor and thumbing through books they plucked from the shelves. "We want them to use the library as a source; it's not just a place to do research. It's for indulging."
With temperatures outside reaching seemingly surface-of-the-sun heights, many might turn to the bookshelf.
"These really, really hot days, it's a great time to read," Ferren said. "It's too hot to be running around [outside] too long."
Programs at area libraries include game nights for teens featuring Wii; mother and daughter book clubs; weekly story times for kids 2 to 5; computer basics for those 18 and older; and a cookie bake-off and family game night. Thanks to a grant, the P.D. Brown branch offers Spanish classes, bilingual programs and has a computer for Spanish speakers.
During the kids club, Stover will read books to the group and time will be spent on crafts.
Keeping in mind the library's summer motto, "Make a Splash!," many of the themes involve water, Stover said. And who doesn't like pirates?
When he asked, "Who likes pirates?" every little hand shot up.
A bit later, after going over how "smelly" and "dirty" a pirate's life would be, Stover asked, "Would you want to be a pirate?" only to be answered by a chorus of "Nooooo."
Maybe a pirate's life isn't for them, but the kids sat rapt listening to the stories and jumped at the chance to make an eye patch and pirate hat.
Engaging kids in stories and fostering a love of books is something mother of three Sharon Pinkey of Waldorf can appreciate. While daughters, Sasha, 7, and Shayla, 6, and son, Shane, 4, heard about buccaneers and scallywags, Pinkey caught up on her reading.
"I can't stay away," she said of books. The family drops by the library once or twice a week and Pinkey has had to put a checkout limit of four books per visit on each of the kids.
She said she has seen her daughters really blossom as readers.
"It opens a whole other world," she said. "I've seen them develop a greater sense of creativity."
When the girls are in school, Shane is treated to a little mom-and-son bonding time by dropping by the library for activities targeted to his age group.
"They look forward to it every week," Pinkey said.
As a prekindergarten teacher in Prince George's County, Elaine Spruill of Waldorf knows the importance of introducing books into a child's life early.
While her daughter, Ayana, 6, participated in the kids club, 1-year-old Amira was intent on pulling as many books off the shelves as she could; she had a nice little collection going before deciding she would rather scramble up into her mother's arms.
"My grandmother was a teacher, I'm a teacher. Reading gives a child a head start in school, it helps with their literacy skills, their vocabulary," said Spruill, who started her girls' love of reading really early.
She read to them when they were in the womb. "Reading is fundamental. You really can't do anything without it."
Jasmine Williamson, 15, of Waldorf stole away into the stacks to read "November Blues" by Sharon Draper.
As a counselor at a nearby day camp, Williamson accompanied a group of younger kids to the activity. But it was evident that she was comfortable in a library setting.
Williamson said she loves reading mysteries and historical fiction.
"You read it and you get to picture everything. … It's your vision," she said. Her advice to those who haven't caught the reading bug yet?
"Don't limit yourself to one book," she advised. "You'll find something you like."
Read up
The second annual Southern Maryland Library Night will be July 30 at Regency Furniture Stadium, 11765 St. Linus Drive, Waldorf. All summer reading participants from Charles, Calvert and St. Mary's counties receive a free lawn seat to see the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs play baseball at 7:05 p.m. The night will start with a parade and end with fireworks. For more information, visit a library or go to www.ccplonline.org.
The P.D. Brown branch is at 50 Village St., Waldorf. Call 301-645-2864; the La Plata branch is at 2 Garrett Ave. Call 301-934-9001; and the Potomac branch is at 3225 Ruth B. Swann Drive, Indian Head. Call 301-375-7375.
