Thunderstorms during the morning hours, then skies turning partly cloudy during the afternoon. High around 85F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 70%..
Tonight
A few clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 68F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph.
Summer is an exciting time at Manhattan Public Library. As schools close, our reader traffic increases greatly. Kids come to the library for books and entertainment like games, summer clubs, movies and storytimes. There’s an electric surge of discovery as they delve into their interests and check out their favorite, fun reads they didn’t have time to enjoy during the school year.
This year’s Summer Reading theme, “All Together Now,” focuses on kindness, friendship and getting along – an underlying theme throughout much of children’s literature. Librarians are also exploring topics like community helpers, being a good citizen and symbiotic relationships in nature. All ages of people in our community are invited to join the annual Summer Reading challenge and earn prizes for reading, thanks to amazing support from the Manhattan Library Association, Manhattan Library Foundation, and many local sponsoring businesses.
Here are some fun books to read all together with friends and family this summer.
In “Friends Beyond Measure: A Story Told with Infographics” authored and illustrated by Lalena Fisher, readers watch a friendship unfold with every type of chart and diagram integrated into the artwork. In the Venn diagram starting out the story, we see how the two friends overlap in their interests and what sets them apart. Whimsical drawings add much to the brief text. When one friend has to move away, several traveling options are mapped out for visits, from a plane trip to a flight via Pegasus on the scenic route. Kids may be inspired to graph their interests and math teachers will love it.
Learn more about how we live in the world together in Jackie McCann and illustrator, Aaron Cushley’s, “If the World Were 100 People: A Visual Guide to Our Global Village.” This is a quick read with extreme impact as you learn about the similarities and the diversity of the nearly eight billion people who occupy Earth.
If there were just 100 people to represent everyone, we would find that 84 of those people have black hair.
How many people would live in North America? Just 5! This book takes a huge concept and brings it to a level of easy understanding.
It’s always exciting to see new readers visit the library in the summer. The kindergarteners and first graders are so eager to use their new skills. In our beginning reader section, we have plenty of new titles, as well as oldie-but-goodies like Arnold Lobel’s “Frog and Toad” books. Vikram Madan’s “Owl and Penguin,” from the “I Like to Read Comics” series, has adorable characters, simple text, and repetitive vocabulary to help readers learn words and build confidence.
Like Frog and Toad, Owl and Penguin are examples of good friends who are kind and empathetic. They can turn sadness into laughter and help each other reach their dreams.
For a different kind of togetherness, “Animal Sidekicks” by Macken Murphy, with entertaining illustrations by Dragan Kordic, explains symbiosis using more than 50 different pairs of animals or plants that have interesting and ongoing relationships. From warthogs and mongooses, to humans and head lice, symbiotic relationships are fascinating to learn about, even the ones that may be a little gross.
A new graphic novel, “The Cool Code” by Deirdre Langeland and illustrated by Sarah Mai, is a perfect read for any fans of Raina Telgemeier, Shannon Hale or Svetlana Chmakova. Zoey has been homeschooled her whole life until the middle of 8th grade when her parents suddenly decide to send her to Hawthorne Middle School. Luckily, Zoey is amazing at coding and has created a fool-proof secret app, the Cool Code. She can talk to her phone and the app will guide her through all interactions, choose her outfits and make her cool. Will that be enough for her to find real friends? Check it out to see.
Summer reading starts on June 1 at the library. When we join “all together now,” our vibrant community of readers always makes this a special season at the library.
Remember that adults can join, too, and be great role models for youth by making time to enjoy reading and learning new things.
Manhattan Public Library is a cornerstone of free and equal access to a world of ideas and information for the Manhattan, Kansas, community.
Manhattan Public Library serves more than 75,000 people in the Riley County area through curated book and other media collections, knowledgeable staff, relevant programming for all ages, and meeting space. Learn more at mhklibrary.org.
Jennifer Bergen is program and children’s services manager at Manhattan Public Library.
