Pages & Paws

Writing, Reading, and Rural Life With a Border Collie

Tag Archives: adult summer reading program


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The Magic Room

“I’ll be back soon” Mom chirps as she heads out the door. “Be good.”

No problemo, I bark, tail wagging. You know I’ll be here when you get back. Besides. When am I ever NOT good? (Well, there was that one unfortunate incident with The Powder Puff and a can of unsupervised red paint. Nobody’s perfect.)

Meantime, I’ll just stay here and guard the house. Say hello to the neighbors. Do my puppy eyes thing on the postal carrier (always good for a free treat). I will also protect my turf from stray felines, menacing deer and sketchy-looking plastic bags.

Now, let’s see. Where was I? Oh yeah. Mom and that magic room. The place she wanders off to with an armload of books to do that “reading” thing. It has her favorite reading chair. Lots of books. And a “Summer Reading Program.” Whatever that is.

Mom goes to this magic place a lot. Even when it’s not summer. But dogs aren’t allowed inside.

What’s up with that?

But Mom always seems to feel better when she’s been there. More settled. Or more susceptible to the puppy eyes thing.

It can go either way.

She talks about visiting “exotic places” like Rome. China. The South Pole. Hackensack, New Jersey. Or meeting dead-ish people like Laura Ingalls Wilder. Jane Austen. Mary Poppins, David Copperfield and Peter Pan. All without ever leaving that room. Or our zip code (got that from my favorite postal carrier).

Yes siree, Lassie! That book room thingy must have some special magic indeed!

Someone say, “Dinner”?


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Rockin’ It This Summer With Reading

Kimber The Reading Dog.

Mom’s at it again. She’s skipping merrily around the house, opening every window in sight.  Humming that Temptations song. You know the one. About sunshine on a cloudy day.

Here in the ever-soggy Pacific Northwest, we take whatever we can get in the “sunshine” department. Maybe that explains Mom lately. Why she keeps crowing, “Summer’s comin’! Woo-hoo!”

Has anyone found my frisbee? Cuz frankly, what’s summer without a nice, chewy, frisbee?

Well. According to Her Mom-ness, “summer” also means the library’s summer adult reading program. Last year she read 136 books in 92 days. This year there’s a “limit”: Twenty books.

What’s up with that?

Anyway, this year’s theme is Libraries Rock. Some brain surgeon (The Powder Puff?) decided to combine the adult program with the children’s and teen reading programs. A one-size-fits-none kind of deal.

The sign-up form for tracking your reading progress includes stuff like coloring, singing a song or learning five new words. You write this down every time you finish a book.

Is there a shortage of grown-up Taste of the Wild in the building?

Not to worry. You know Mom and me and books. We’re not going to let something this silly slow us down. No siree, Lassie!

We’ve read eight books and one audio book since we signed up on June 1. Coloring notwithstanding, we’re gonna “rock” this summer. Reading highlights so far:

And a re-read of an old favorite: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl.

Another stand out: Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin.

It’s post-WWII Europe with a catch. A big one: Hitler won. Now a survivor of Nazi experimentation in a death camp, Yael is on a mission to win a race and kill Hitler.

“I couldn’t put it down!” says Her Mom-ness. “It’s a barn burner.” Maybe I should grab a fire extinguisher?

I’d say more, but I feel another skipping session coming on.

 

Meanwhile, have you signed up for your library’s summer reading program? What are your reading goals for this summer?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rock skipping photo credit: Flickr – Creative Commons License