Cook Memorial Library Helping Kids Find Their Voice with Summer Reading

By Garrett Christensen on Tuesday, June 27th, 2023 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News

LA GRANDE – Summer is a time for fun, sun, and most importantly for those still in school, no homework. However, just because the classrooms are empty doesn’t mean reading and stimulation must stop, nor do they have to be seen as chores. Even for adults, the typical summer slack on reading can be just as prevalent. Thankfully, local libraries are doing their part to not only keep reading going during the summer, but to make it fun for everyone.

For La Grande’s Cook Memorial Library, keeping reading fun means keeping it as simple and stress free as possible, with plenty of cool prizes and activities thrown in for good measure. The eight-week summer reading program, funded through the State Library of Oregon’s Ready to Read grant, sees participants pick up any book of their choice and simply track their reading time. As describe by teen service librarian Celine Vandervlugt:

“The goal is just to keep everybody reading during the summer, which the schools and teachers appreciate because of the summer slide and all that. You keep them reading with incentive programs, basically. The idea is that families log their reading time. As they log the reading time, they earn points. The more points you earn the more entries into the prize drawings.”

Beyond the prizes, which include trinket laden lanyards for the kids, the summer program is full to the brim with activities for all ages. The full calendar can be found at https://cookmemoriallibrary.org/Pages/Index/80962/calendar-of-events, but some highlights that Vandervlugt shared include:

Oregon Rocks. This event includes hands-on geology focused activities from the Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History.

Songs with Shahayla. A local voice teacher will host various singing and music activities for kids.

Downtown Scavenger Hunt. Here, families are tasked with finding all ten copies of Speak Up (pictured above) hidden in local businesses throughout downtown La Grande. Find all ten and enter a prize drawing.

Story Times. These range from standard story times to featuring special guests, including La Grande Police Chief Gary Bell and Parks and Recreation Director Stu Spence. For those that might miss some of the story times, the Library has you covered with its new Dial a story Program. Staff pre-record story readings which can be listened to over the phone by calling 541-624-6339.

Stuffed Animal Sleepover. Kids can drop off their stuffed animals after a story time and let their fuzzy companions have a fun night in the Library. As explained by Vandervlugt.”

“The kids can come, and they leave their stuffed animals overnight in the library. They get up into all kinds of mischief. We have some teenagers that come, and they photograph the stuffed animals going through the book drop, playing, coloring, playing with puppet theater, doing all kinds of crazy stuff, and then we make a movie out of it with music and background and play it at the next story time.”

Note that the kids themselves do not spend the night at the library, only the stuffed animals.

Teen Book Bites. Staff set out tables of books from assorted genres that teens might be interested in. As Vandervlugt put it, “it’s just getting more books in their hands and helping them find things.”

Tiny Art Show. Kids, teens and even adults can take home a four-inch by four-inch canvas (pictured above) and paint whatever they want. The drawings are then displayed in the Library.

The tiny Art Show happens to be a favorite pick among both staff and the kids, and don’t just take our word for it either. When asked what part of the program she was most excited about, Marlow, the daughter of one of the staff members, had this to say:

“The tiny art show. I really like tiny stuff and using my paint markers will be good for making that tiny art. I was thinking about making a balloon picture. I really like tiny stuff and plus I get to earn a badge afterwards.”

Badges and balloons and the various activities that go along with them aren’t the only things families have to look forward to either. As part of the I-Ready program used by multiple libraries, including Cook Memorial Library, each year’s summer program promotes a positive, overarching theme, with 2023s being “Find Your Voice.” Different libraries interpret this idea in different ways, though the core concept centers around identity and self-confidence. According to Vandervlugt, Cook Memorial Library spun this in a more musical direction, with activities like Songs with Shahayla.

For those interested in participating in the remainder of the program, registration is available online at https://cityoflagrande.beanstack.org/reader365 or in person at the front desk. The program lasts through July 28 and can be joined at any time. As of June 21, 289 people had signed up for the program, including 173 kids, 73 teenagers and 43 adults. For those worried about keeping up with activities or reading logs, all participation is completely optional, and no fees are required at any point. As best put by Vandervlugt:

“Everything can be done from home, and it literally takes less than a minute a week to log your reading. It’s very low stress, it’s not going to add to their feeling of franticness during the summer, it’s just going to give them (parents) a little extra and give their kids a little extra reason to read. It’s not one more thing to do, it’s ‘oh, that’s a great thing to add.’”

For more information, visit https://cookmemoriallibrary.org/.