Programs

It’s Summer Reading season and we have something for everyone! Our Summer Reading Program offers two distinct experiences for participants – reading and events.

The reading portion of Summer Reading consists of game boards or time-trackers for participants of all ages (even babies and adults) to encourage reading all summer long. We are passionate about this portion because for school-age children, reading all summer prevents the “summer slide.” Summer slide is the phenomenon where kids forget much of what they learned the previous year, forcing teachers to begin each school year with a massive review.

Studies show that kids and teens who read all summer forget less than their peers who don’t. Spending 20 minutes a day or more of reading (or listening) is enough to prevent kids and teens from forgetting as much. This ensures our kids will be more successful in school and establish good habits as they get older.

We aren’t above bribing people to read, so expect prizes and drawing entry opportunities!

The events portion of Summer Reading is chock-full of fun classes, activities, and events for all ages. Adults have classes and events every Monday at 6:30 PM starting June 10th. Children ages 5 – 11 have events every Tuesday at 10:00 AM and repeated again at 2:00 PM beginning June 4th. Babies and toddlers ages 0 – 4 have Storytime classes every Wednesday at 10:30 AM beginning June 5th. And Teens ages 12-18 have events every Thursday at 6:30 PM beginning June 6th.

Our slogan this year is “A Universe of Stories,” so our events and classes are (loosely) space-themed. Check out our website at pryorlibrary.org/summer-reading-program for the full schedule and instructions on how to participate.

Registration for the reading portion of Summer Reading starts Tuesday, May 28th.  

It’s time for our monthly Books & Brews meeting at the Fat Toad. This month, we’ll discuss Neil Gaiman’s “The Graveyard Book,” a sort of retelling of “The Jungle Book” by Rudyard Kipling. Instead of the main character being raised by a pack of wolves in a jungle, he is raised by a haunt of ghosts in a graveyard.

“The Graveyard Book” was my choice for the group. Mostly because Neil Gaiman may be my favorite author ever. I love the way he begins a story with many disparate threads only to weave them all together into a single fabric and I love the characters he brings to life. “The Graveyard Book” is not my favorite of Gaiman’s works, but I felt like it would be a nice choice for the Books & Brews folks. It begins with murder, then features a boy who finds adventures with graveyard creatures. There’s a lot of discussion material between its covers.

It’s the only book to win both the Newbery in the U.S. and the Carnegie in the U.K. so it is well received among the toughest critics. The Newbery Award is awarded to “the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.” The Carnegie Award is awarded to “the writer of an outstanding book written in English for children and young people.” Dave McKean’s illustration style enhances Gaiman’s writing incredibly well even though he didn’t win any awards for his contribution.

There’s still time to read “The Graveyard Book” before our meeting on Saturday, April 6th from 1 – 3 PM. Or don’t read it and come anyway. We won’t judge. The first hour we meet is reserved for socializing and the book discussion is in the second hour. No one is required to purchase anything in order to join us and we have a nice mix of men and women of all ages. You don’t even have to be 21 to enter the brewery anymore!