Over 120 local children participated in Odell Public Library’s five-week, “Reading Takes You Everywhere” Summer Reading Club. Programming was based on the tremendously popular Magic Treehouse book series by Mary Pope Osborne. Each week, readers were transported to a destination from the books and completed a variety of fun activities and crafts.
“We had a great turnout,” stated Katie Ryder, “and the kids had a blast!”
During week one, readers went back in time to the age of dinosaurs, where they were treated to a magical dinosaur dance, before channeling their inner dinosaurs with a game of herbivore vs. carnivore Freeze Tag, among other activities.
During week two, the jungle came to Odell with a visit from Niabi Zoo and five animal species, including
- ball pythons
- scorpions
- frogs
- toads
- even a parrot!
Week three took participants under the sea for an energetic shark song, crabby crafts, and art activities for all ages.
The Rockford Museum visited Odell during week four, supplying an inflatable planetarium. Readers ventured into outer space! Odell astronauts also rotated through “space stations” where they
- completed out-of-this-world crafts
- enjoyed hula hooping, like the rings of Saturn
- created their own constellations.
As Summer Reading Club came to a close, readers sailed the high seas and became pirates for the morning–complete with mustaches, hooks, and hats. After they swabbed the deck, saved their mateys, and walked the plank, the crew was treated to a pile of pirate booty. Prizes included candy, small toys, and gift certificates. However, the best prize was taking home two books to keep!
The Odell staff is so proud of this group of readers. Over the five weeks of club, they read 3051 books, for a grand total of 44,947 minutes. That’s like reading for 749 hours, or 31 days, straight. We are simply amazed at how much reading is going on in the community and want to encourage kids to keep reading all summer long.
Odell Public Library would also like to thank the United Way of Whiteside County for funding Summer Reading Club and supporting our community. Without their generosity, Odell would not be able to provide such quality programming and supplies. Thank you for helping make Odell a fun space to learn and grow.
Keep up the fantastic reading, and visit www.odellpubliclibrary.com to learn more about upcoming activities.
