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Category: Summer Reading

MAY 31, 2012
“The Great Geek Summer of 2012” Canton Public Library’s Summer Reading Program


    It has become very cool to be a geek, and Canton Public Library will be a very cool place to be a geek this summer.  Children’s Librarian Heather Baker has announced the theme for the library’s summer reading program:  “The Great Geek Summer of 2012.”  Young readers will have many programs and events to fill their summer hours.
 
    Being a geek has become a culturally popular phenomenon.  A geek is one who has an intense passion and an extensive knowledge of a particular theme or topic, such as superheroes, vampires and zombies, Star Wars, Star Trek, or legos.  Geeks demonstrate thorough involvement in their passion and nearly encyclopedic mastery of the topic.
 
    “The Great Geek Summer of 2012” is a summer reading theme unique to Canton Public Library, according to Baker.  “The theme grew out of the community,” she said.  The town is a comfortable place for both kids and adults to pursue their “geeky” interests, and the library supports those pursuits.
 
    The summer reading program officially begins the week of July 2 and wraps up the week of August 13.  Our fourth annual Pool Party & Dunk Tank will be held on August 16 at Mills Pond for school-aged participants (you have to earn your way in!)  The Pool Party is sponsored by the Friends of the Canton Public Library, with the help of the staff of Canton Parks & Recreation.  Our Preschool Music Party, with Starr & Shello, will be held on August 14 at the library.  Sponsored by the Friends of the Canton Public Library, the wrap party is for children aged 2 and up.  Refreshments will be provided by ShopRite of Canton.  No registration is required.
           
    Summer at the library is packed full of activities for all ages and all interests.   Programs include A Readers Theater Club, A Singers Theater Club, and two Book Buddies groups.  Movies on the Big Screen (with free hot popcorn) will be shown on Thursday evenings at 6:30. Tuesday morning drop-in story times with Ms. Heather will meet at 10:30 AM from July 3 to August 7.  
 
    An addition to the summer offerings is a craft series, “Awesomely Geeky Projects and Activities,” which begins on Monday, July 2 and runs through Monday, August 6.  Themes for the crafting workshops, which will be held on Mondays at 4:30 PM, include straw rockets, match-box balloon-powered cars, and crash-test dummies.  Each activity will require separate registration and each may be geared for different age ranges.  Youngsters are limited to participation in two of the activities.
 
     Special events include a performance by the Canton High School Ukulele Club on Tuesday, July 10 at 7:00 PM.    On Tuesday, July 24, the library hosts Jim Napolitano and his Nappy’s Puppets in a Sing-Along, sure to be popular with children ages 2 and up.  (The puppet show takes the place of the drop-in story time on that day.)
 
    “Movies on the Big Screen,” always a popular outing for children, seniors,  and families, will feature many of the popular new releases, including The Mysterious Island, The Adventures of Tin Tin, The Muppets, The Goonies, Hercules, and The Lorax.  

    This summer the Book Buddies Program (Teens Read to Kids) features two groups, one meeting on Thursday mornings and one meeting on Wednesdays in the early evening.  Both groups will meet for five weeks, beginning the week of July 9 and ending the week of August 6.  Registration for children (ages 3-7) is absolutely required; registration opened on June 11.  Teen volunteerscan fill out an application in the children’s room.  The Book Buddies program is sponsored by the Canton Dental Center and Jason Kasprzak, DDS.
            
    Readers Theater is for youngsters ages 6 and up who love to perform and are able readers.  The group, which this year has a Dr. Seuss theme, will meet for the week of July 30 to August 6 with a “Summer Seuss Celebration” performance on the evening of August 6th.  Readers Theater will once again be led by Heather Nielsen, a recent Hampshire College graduate who will be a Masters Degree candidate at the University of Massachusetts in the fall.  This will be Nielsen’s fourth year leading the program.

   Singers Theater, led by Michael Coderre, will meet from July 12 to 19 with a performance on July 19th.  Singers Theater is for ages 8 and up, does not require an audition, and will use music based on the interests and abilities of the participants.  Coderre has a Master’s Degree in Voice and in Music Composition from the University of Alberta.  He is Director of Choirs at Bristol Eastern High School and the Music Director at Asbury United Methodist Church in Forestville.  He has more than 20 years of experience working with youth performers and singers of all ages.

     Registration is required for both the Readers Theater and Singers Theater programs, and youngsters and parents are warned that these programs fill up quickly.  All participants must be available for their performances.  

    Tuesday Morning Drop-In Story Times with Ms. Heather will meet every Tuesday morning from July 3 to August 7 at 10:30 a.m.  Themes will include superheroes and local heroes, birds behaving badly, platypuses, a galaxy far away, and “yarn-bombing,” to name a few.  Story time includes stories, songs, a short movie, a craft and a snack, for ages 2 and up.

    Thanks to a technology grant from The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, youngsters will have some very exciting science programming this summer on Friday afternoons from July 6 through August 10.  Using our new laptop computer lab, educators from The Talcott Mountain Science Center will present entertaining and educational programs on sound waves, astronomy, bubbles and optical illusions.  The programs are geared for different ages and require separate registration.  Advance registration is required, and youngsters may register for up to two programs.

    Summer Reading Logs for school-aged children and preschoolers will be available starting on the last day of school.  Coupons/Prizes/Bracelets earned for the completion of summer reading goals will be available only starting on July 2 through August 16.  The library will also have copies of the books from all Canton schools summer reading lists, and we have copies of those lists available in the library all summer long. 

    As in years past, the summer reading program is supported by a number of community businesses, including Applebee’s, Ben & Jerry's of Canton, Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Canton Creamery at Petals & Paws, McDonald's of Canton, and Riverfront Mini-Golf, all of which will supply coupons for reader treats.

    Prizes will be supplied by other businesses, Bremar Rental, Benidorm Bike, Canton Dental Center, Children's Museum of Connecticut, Collinsville Canoe & Kayak,  Cosi of Avon, Glow Cove of Canton, ImagineNation Museum, International Skating Center of Simsbury, Joe Pizza, Jump Zone, Kiddly Winks, Perfect Toy of Avon, Simsbury Commons Cinema, Ski Sundown, Target, Warner Theater of Torrington, Wal-Mart of Avon, Flatbread Company, Joni’s Child Care, Larsen Ace Hardware, and ShopRite of Canton.  Every prize winner—child, teen, and adult—will, in addition to his or her prize, walk away with a gift certificate to Flatbread Company in The Shoppes of Farmington Valley.  And every child and teen who wins a prize will also receive a book, many of them signed by the author.  (This is, after all, summer reading.)

    Registration for one-time programs and the program series began on Monday, June 11 for Canton residents. Canton Public Library is at 40 Dyer Avenue, Canton.  For information:  (860) 693-5800 or www.cantonpubliclibrary.org

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