Library Love

Enter the dawning of a new summer reading program. Probably my crush on summer reading began when my mom toted me to the bookmobiles as a preschooler. I remember around age 10 or so, feverishly finishing a chapter book a day to maximize my prize winning potential with Boise's summer reading program. The prize at the end? A book, of course. But there were bribes of pizza coupons, toy raffles, etc. along the way.

Cozying up on the couch with a good book with my children is one of the activities of motherhood I most looked forward to getting to do, and to accompany that joy, immersing ourselves in local library summer reading programs:

Here we are at the summer reading kick off party a couple days ago. The library gave out grab bags with lots of gift certificates to local restaurants. They also had local area businesses bring their mascots, like the Build-a-Bear shown above with me and that Lo (I like how he grabs the bear's eye. Does that to me too sometimes!) Libraries are good for a lot more than just books. Jerry and I frequent the dvd selection, bringing home such gems lately as the original Pink Panther, Rear Window, and other classics. One of the libraries near our home has nice framed art available for checkout, so I put a few paintings up on our otherwise bare walls. I have even known one library in a past place I lived that had educational toys, such as giant models of dinosaurs, available for patrons to take home for a time. The library where we used to live in Massachusetts had free passes to area zoos, museums, etc. which was a lot of fun. Basically, libraries are one of the best inventions ever.