When it comes to having fun this summer, the children of Emporia definitely have the case cracked.
“Get a Clue at Your Library,” is the theme for this year’s summer reading program at the Emporia Public Library. And so far, the kids seem to be doing just that. As of Monday, 971 children had signed up for the program, with more still coming. By contrast, last year’s eight-week program had involved about 1,200 kids by the time it was over.
That interest doesn’t surprise children’s librarian Lori Heller. From what she’s seen, everyone loves a good mystery.
“I wonder if it’s just the possibility of being able to solve it before the characters,” she said. “I think that’s why I read them as a kid. And kids always love series books — and it seems like a lot of mysteries are series.”
The program kicked off on May 30 but children may continue to sign up throughout the summer. There is no charge other than a commitment to try to read at least 800 minutes by July 25, about 100 minutes a week. “Overtime readers” who go above and beyond that; have the opportunity to win prizes such as shirts or book bags.
Some of these readers can log some serious overtime. Last year’s top readers had about 6,900 minutes under their belts. All together, the kids had 468,447 minutes, a figure that included 91 overtime readers. Special bonus activities each week also can win a small prize or additional minutes.
With detectives in the spotlight this year, it’s natural that most of the activities offered by the library deal with puzzles and mysteries. A “Late Night at the Library” last week had third-through fifth-graders searching for clues in the disappearance of a library bookplate. Upcoming events include a chance to see the Lyon County crime scene van, or an afternoon of cracking codes, or even the wonder of a magic show — magic tricks having their own mystery, of course. Even the littlest readers have the chance to play “I Spy” a time or three.
Not every activity fits the theme. Some are old favorites back for a return engagement, such as the worm and car races on June 29. Racing earthworms may not have much to do with Nancy Drew and Encyclopedia Brown, but it wouldn’t be summer at the library without it.
Scheduled activities include:
• Thursday — “Dan, Dan the Magic Man” at 3 p.m.
• Tuesday — “CSI: How Detectives Work” with Lyon County Sheriff’s Deputy Roger Proehl and the crime scene van at 3 p.m.
• June 29 — Worm and car races starting at 10 a.m. The Boy Scouts’ Pinewood Derby racetrack will be used for the cars.
• July 2 — Mystery game day from 10 a.m. to noon and from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Board games such as “Clue” and “Guess Who” will be offered along with some mystery-themed computer games.
• July 10 — “Solve It: Puzzles and Codes” starting at 3 p.m. as the kids learn how to figure out puzzles and break codes.
• July 15 — Family pool party at the Jones Aquatic Center from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
• July 20 — Muggle Mania block party at the Town Crier bookstore, 716 Commercial Street, for the release of the final Harry Potter novel. Runs from 9 p.m. to midnight.
• July 24 — Deadline to turn in reading time booklets and overtime reader sheets to be considered for prizes.
• July 25 — “Case Closed,” the final summer reading club party with games, activities, snow cones and prizes, running from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Regular morning storytimes will also run through July 19. Times are 9:15 a.m. Mondays and Thursdays for the Pat-a-Cake Club (Infants to 18 months), 9:45 a.m. Mondays and Thursdays for Mother Goose Time (Toddlers to 36 months), 10:30 a.m. Mondays and Thursdays and 9:30 a.m. Tuesdays for Preschool Storytime (2 to 5 years old) and 10:30 a.m. Tuesdays for School Age Storytime. In addition, a Guess Who? Storytime for all ages is offered at 1 p.m. Wednesdays.
Friday afternoon movies will be shown each week at 2 p.m.
In addition to all this, about 100 people have signed up for the teen summer reading program, “You Never Know At Your Library,” which counts the number of pages read rather than the number of minutes. Sixth through eighth graders are rewarded for every 200 pages they read, while older kids are rewarded for every 250 pages. A new level of awards will be given after reaching 600 pages for the younger teens or 750 pages for the older ones. Grand prizes at the end will be determined through a random drawing of the program’s participants.
The teens also have two special activities that meet during the summer:
• On July 10 and August 14, the Anime Club will meet after hours at the library’s large meeting room from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. The first event was Tuesday night.
• A Teen Gamers Night will be held from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday as well as on July 20 and Aug. 17 on the upper floor of the library. Gamers will be able to play computer games and tables will be set up for various card games. Card players are asked to bring their own cards.
Registration is required for both teen events and a parent or guardian must sign an agreement form, since the activities take place after hours.
Anyone with questions about any of the summer reading activities may call 340-6466, or 340-6450 for questions about the teen activities.
In some ways, Heller said, the mystery theme couldn’t be better timed.
“The Nancy Drew movie opens this Friday,” she said. “We’ll probably have a lot of girls wanting to read Nancy Drew again.”