The Tallassee Community Library was far from quiet Wednesday.
Children oohed and aahed. Some squealed. Others shrieked in excitement. But it was all to promote reading as the library hosted Animals Tales as part of the “Color Our World” summer reading program.
PHOTOS: Library program uses animals to teach color
Cue Eckstein, 6, was one of the children excited about the program. He was selected to help as the snake was shown to more than three dozen children gathered around.
“It was the best thing ever,” Cue said. “I love snakes. It was the most goodest thing in the world.”
Other children were a little unsure at times. One child volunteered before knowing he would be holding a Madagascar hissing cockroach. When the insect was pulled from its container, he reacted as if he would balk. Instead he steadily held the animal as it hissed and admired it.
“The animals are always one of the most popular programs,” Tallassee Community Library director Margaret Lumpkin said. “The kids always enjoy them. Animal Tales does a great job fitting them into the theme and encouraging the kids to read.”
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The program described how the animals such as the cockroaches, prairie dog, snake, frog and bird used to color as camouflage for the environment they came from. The animals’ eating habits, enemies and more were described to the children.
“All of the information opens the doors to reading books,” Lumpkin said.
The library has about 100 children signed up for this summer’s reading program. With two weeks to go, they have read more than 3,700 books. Readers who did well this summer will be recognized as the program closes out with a pizza and spray party July 30.
“The fire department always does a great job of helping us celebrate,” Lumpkin said. “The kids all enjoy running through the water they spray from the firetruck.”
The summer reading program also allows younger readers to add to their book totals for a new program for the library — 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten. Lumpkin reminded the children and their parents to let her know what books they have read and the category of the book.
“They get brag tags for every hundred books they read,” Lumpkin said. “They also get brag tags for category books. It is all to help encourage reading at an early age. It helps them so much when they get to school.”
