Library closes the book on summer reading program with pizza party

Young readers flocked to the old gym last Saturday to celebrate their summer achievements with pizza, prizes and a majestic bouncy castle. The event was the culmination of the Irene Ingle Public Library's annual summer reading program, which encourages Wrangell youth to keep their reading skills sharp during the summer months.

Autumn Steyers couldn't recall the title of her favorite book that she read this summer, but the storyline left an impression on her: "It was about a unicorn and a little girl who wanted to be friends with the unicorn," she said. Her experience with the summer reading program was "really good." She came away from the end-of-summer party with a deepened love for reading and a plate of cupcakes decorated by Sweet Tides.

Rooney Shafer was excited to win a Barbie doll for her summer reading efforts. Her favorite book is a story about the Disney princess Ariel, who "finds the best treasure ever," she said. Her favorite thing about reading is sounding words out with her mom.

Jayden Mathieu enjoyed reading William Kotzwinkle's "Walter the Farting Dog" books this summer. The series details the titular dog's fragrant exploits, with titles like "Banned from the Beach" and "Trouble at the Yard Sale."

Walter "was really cool and funny," Jayden said. And she isn't the only one who feels that way - former White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten (2006-2009) was rumored to keep one of the books in his office as a "conversation starter," according to a 2016 Chicago Tribune article.

About 90 kids completed the program this year, including homeschoolers and out-of-town seasonal visitors. Together, they read just under 2,000 books and took home over 160 prizes.

The number of kids who participated in the program was "right around where it has been the past couple of years," said Library Director Sarah Scambler. "We had a drop-off after COVID, so we're just kind of watching that come back up."

Each book has a point value assigned to it according to the ranking system used by the Accelerated Reader program at Wrangell schools. The more books that each student reads - and the higher the point value of each book - the more tickets they can put into the competition's various prize drawings.

Prizes were donated by community businesses, and the program and party were funded through a First Bank grant.

According to a 2020 study, students in the first through eighth grades lose between 17% and 34% of the prior year's learning during the summer. "Our goal is to make sure that kids in Wrangell keep their reading levels up," Scambler said, "so that when they start the next grade, they're at least on the same level."