DALLAS — Five-year-old Abby Mace had some difficult decisions to make.
Her foam cut-out person needed clothes and Abby needed to select shoes to go with an orange top and pink skirt during the annual Back Mountain Memorial Library’s Summer Reading Party held Aug. 17.
The free event is designed to reward children who participated in the library’s 2017 Summer Reading Program called “Build a Better World!” with an afternoon full of activities and goodies, said Janet Bauman, the children’s librarian.
At 11 a.m. the auction grounds behind the Back Mountain Memorial Library at 96 Huntsville Road were transformed into a mini festival featuring a variety of activities that included ring toss, ladder toss, finger painting, bean bag toss, and book give-a-ways.
A donation from the Dreier family funded a visit by balloon artist TJ Belt from Trucksville, Bauman said.
“Abbie Youngblood of Will Love Stella Sweets donated a cake, Pepsi donated soda and water,” Bauman said. “We are so fortunate out here to have parents that care about the library.”
A love of the library and for reading was also taking root in 11-year-old John Cummings.
“I like the summer reading program,” he said while gluing tiles on a terracotta flower pot. “It didn’t interfere with school, and I like the friendly librarians.”
The Summer Reading Program allowed Cummings, of Franklin Township, to keep his literacy skills sharp over the school break, but he also learned what it takes to build a community.
“To ‘Build a Better World’ you need people working together to reach an achievement,” Cummings said. “You need people to make things like this (Summer Reading Party) happen.”
The Summer Reading Program sparked interest in younger children, who are just beginning to learn to read.
Abby said she liked a story “about a yellow dog named Biscuit.” Her little brother, Owen, enjoyed listening to the Berenstain Bears series.
As for that wardrobe dilemma, Abby chose light blue shoes for her foam person.
