ALL TOGETHER now

Library’s All-Ages Summer Reading Program Kicks Off June 19

BY ANNA SWARTZ

“AllTogether Now” is the perfect theme for the 2023 Summer Reading Program at the St. Clair Shores Public Library, because it includes everyone from young children listening to a bedtime story to an adult enjoying an audiobook on their morning walk. Those willing to immerse themselves in a story – whether in a graphic novel, magazine, eBook, classic paperback and everything in between – will find a place in the Summer Reading Program. Both the youth and adult reading programs kick off June 19 and end August 4.

Youth Services Librarian Elizabeth Drewek, who has been working at the St. Clair Shores library for a decade, says that ideas for Summer Reading Program decorations start to hit around December the year prior. She and part-time Youth Services Librarian

Cheyenne Smigiel mulled over the theme “All Together

Now”: “You know where people spend a lot of time together? Camping. ...a lot of kids will even do just a day camp. I thought it would be a fun way to kind of visualize that community and coming together.” Bonus: decorations will likely involve a tent.

Wee to Teen Readers

The youth program is split into Wee Readers (birth to 2 ½), Beginning Readers (3-7), Independent Readers (8-11) and Teens (12-18, or the summer after they finish high school). The reading logs also include activities such as “Sing a Favorite Lullaby” and “Point Out Everything That Starts with the Same Letter as Your Baby’s First Name.” Teens can enjoy options such as “Create a Piece of Fan Art” or “Redesign a Book Cover.”

The Summer Reading Program culminates with raffle prizes and a Touch-A-Truck event on August 8 from 5-8 p.m. featuring vehicles from various city departments in the library’s parking lot. A firetruck, police cars and a snowplow will be among the five to eight vehicles at the event, according to Drewek. The event will also involve games, and the nearby Selinsky-Green Farmhouse Museum is typically open for visitors. The event is open to anyone who would like to stop by.

Pink, Blue or Purple

"What color should Miss Liz dye her hair this year?

Circle one: Pink, blue or purple.” That’s perhaps the most important section on the youth reading log at the library this summer. For the fifth year, Youth Services Librarian Elizabeth Drewek’s hair will change from light brown to a much bolder color after the conclusion of the Summer Reading Program. Last year, after the votes were counted, Drewek dyed her hair green. Her hair has also been blue, purple and red.

“I actually saw [the idea] on a different librarian's Facebook page... and I was like, sure, why not?” Drewek says. “The kids really seem to enjoy it. I keep the color for a couple months, so they have time to come in and see it.”

Adults, Lose Yourself in a Book

“Adults look forward to summer reading as much as kids do,” says Stephanie Fair, assistant director at the St.

Clair Shores Public Library. “Maybe they’re taking a chance to relax. We are here to support those endeavors to access materials online and in person. And I think that’s what’s great about providing a summer reading program.”

The adult program includes weekly drawings, allowing patrons the opportunity to win gift cards to local businesses. Throughout the program, participants can once again enjoy Book Bingo – achieving “Bingo” gives one a spot in the grand prize drawing at the end of the program. Bingo includes options such as “Read a ‘Banned Book,’” “Try a Recipe from a Cookbook” and “Pick a Book by Its Cover.”

Today’s Hot Picks

According to Fair, many patrons tend to gravitate toward mystery, romance or nonfiction. The books of author Colleen Hoover (of TikTok fame) are popular, as well as “anything adapted into a movie” such as “Where the Crawdads Sing.” Fair herself loves a good mystery and at the time of this interview was enjoying “The Remarkable Bright Creatures” by Shelby Van Pelt.

For those who want recommendations, a resource accessed with a library card, NoveList Plus, offers suggestions based on appeal, genre and theme. Readalike recommendations are given for titles, authors and series. According to Fair, NoveList provides much more information than Google or Amazon.

How does everyone enjoy consuming their books? "Overall people still enjoy that hardcover or paperback book, that physical item in their hand, but we are seeing increasing amounts of people utilizing Hoopla, which is our online resource,” Fair says. She also says that Libby, an online resource for eBooks and magazines, is gaining popularity.

Registration

Registration for both adult and youth programs begins June 19.

Youth registration must be done in person at the library. Documents for the adult program can be printed online, ww.scslibrary.org, or be picked up at the library.

Friends of the St. Clair Shores Public Library and Shorewood Kiwanis are sponsoring this year’s Summer Reading Program.

Check out Shores Happenings on pages 24-25 for information about the programming for youth and adults at the library.