Rick Rakestraw and his critters at the Rainbow City Public Library

Skin & Bones Comedy Circus at the Rainbow City Public Library

Children enjoying a program at the Rainbow City Public Library

Featured Library: Rainbow City Public Library

Angela Hanshaw | August 03, 2010

The Rainbow City (Ala.) Public Library just wrapped up their summer reading program for kids. Featuring the theme “Make a Splash—Read!,” the program had 586 registered participants reading 9,500 books. In addition to awarding drawstring backsacks to children reading at least fifteen books, the library offered a number of programs to encourage children to visit, with a combined attendance of more than 3,200. Each program was held twice a day, once for children ages four to six, and once for children ages seven to twelve. Programs included:

• Archie Wade’s Magic Show—Back by popular demand, Archie the magician kicked off the summer reading program.

• Skin & Bones Comedy Circus—An entertaining show featuring juggling, ball spinning, trained dogs and a potbellied pig, magic, and plenty of comedy.

• “Be-At Your Best”—Mark Seymour’s high energy drum and music extravaganza features more than seventy percussion instruments.

• “Critters”—Rick Rakestraw’s educational program featured a wide variety of live exotic animals, including a monkey, a snake, a baby kinkajou, a ringtail lemur, a macaw named Rocky, and more.

• “Alabama Animals”—The Anniston Museum of Natural History discussed the awesome diversity of animals that are native to Alabama. The program featured live animals and included a gopher tortoise, indigo snake, American alligator, screech owl, and more.

• Starshine Faces Storytelling—Kristin Simpson combined the imagination of storytelling with the art of face painting for a new and unique interactive experience.

• “Space Suits”—the U.S. Space & Rocket Center discussed temperature, oxygen, radiation, and how our bodies are perfectly suited to the comfortable atmosphere of earth.

Children who read at least fifteen books also were treated to a special party just for them featuring magician Russell Davis, who treated kids to a funny and amazing look at reading and storytelling.

The library also offered a summer reading program for adults that included prize drawings; adults received one entry for every three books they read.

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Angela Hanshaw is Program Officer/Web Editor for the ALA Public Programs Office.

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