Books, the original tablet, can make summer fun

It's a book. It just sits there. It doesn't do anything but collect dust on the shelf. It's the reader who brings it to life. And that's the point.

And that's the problem, too, for young readers who are used to interactive devices, games and videos at the finger-tip, animation and music and YouTube and all the rest of it. In comparison, a book can look lifeless and dull, a small rectangle that doesn't even plug in or make dinging noises.

A youth services librarian at the downtown branch of the public library explains the problem. Even very young children are used to computers (and there are rows of them in the children's section). One young visitor to the library swiped his small hand across the book his mother checked out for him and was surprised when nothing happened.  

He thought it must be broken.

So what can be done to keep children reading through the summer months, when "Summer Slide" takes over and kids who sit in front of cartoons forget about characters and plot and how words make paragraph and paragraphs stack up into stories. They can lose months of reading ability, making it hard to catch up in the fall. Once upon a time, parents didn't have to compete with Frozen and cute cat videos and Spider-Man. Now they do. 

The library's reading programs, available at all 12 branches and free to anyone with a library card (and cards are free), gives parents handouts about the importance of reading to children, singing songs and making rhymes, and joining the summer reading club for kids up to fifth grade. 

There are crafts and science clubs and "book buddy" programs. At some branches, the Alabama Youth Ballet demonstrates dance techniques; Rise Raptor project brings Curt Cearly and his owl, Maximus for a close-up look at birds of prey, and the Huntsville Drum Line marches through the library making a joyful noise. Alexander's Martial Arts promotes confidence, motor skills, and self-discipline. 

There are Lego League Robotics and Minecraft activities. And, lest we forget, all those books.

While the library hands out book logs to readers who list the books they've read, some families have their own. Sparkman High School teacher Nekeysha Jones gave her girls, Melanie, age 7, and Breanna, age 9, summer reading journals a few years ago. They're free to read the books they want to read, not just the ones their parents say they should read.

Though the girls have iPads and Kindle Fire and computers, reading time is the norm in their household. The sisters set timers for 30 minutes each day and retreat to their reading nook, sometimes with their mother, who reads with them. They might discuss what they've read.

They log in the name of the author and the book in their journals, and write something about their favorite chapter. Then they go to the library every two weeks for new books, and the process starts again.

For young children, Jones suggests setting a timer for 10 minutes. For reluctant readers, there's a website called www.storylineonline.net.

In her life as a parent and her life as an educator, Jones uses two phrases with her daughters and her students:  "Readers are Leaders" and "Children who read become adults who think."

On July 23 from 4-7 pm, the library will hold a field day in Big Spring Park to celebrate Summer Reading and the children who've been part of it. Jones hopes to be there. 

For more information, contact hmcpl.org or call 256-532-5940.

Source: Books, the original tablet, can make summer fun