Robey Memorial Library shares highlights from its Summer Reading Program

The “Every Hero Has a Story” Summer Reading Program (SRP) 2015 at Robey Memorial Library in Waukon has now come to an end, with a variety of events being held throughout the summer as part of this year's program. The July 6 Family Night kicked off the Summer Reading Program.
Opening that Family Night program was story lady Sue Kiesau and her beloved puppets, including Bernie and Peanut Butter. A special highlight of the evening was a Super Hero Training Camp, set up around the library for attendees to challenge their skills. Those activities included Balancing Act; Decoding Skills; Laser Beam Obstacle Course; Bomb Disposal; Villain Bowling; Villain Window Toss; Kryptonite Disposal; and Library Friends Rescue. Once the children completed all activities, they received a prize by punching through the paper cover of the Punch Board.
Family Night was also the start of the registration for the 4-Week Reading Challenge, which ran from July 6 through August 1. All participants were encouraged to read at their own pace and at their own reading level. Prizes were given for each week of participation. “Library Champion” signs were given to children to display at their homes and can be seen throughout the Waukon community. Six participants of the Teen Summer Reading Challenge read a total of 70 hours, with the top reader being Madelyn Marti.
As in other years, the Kid’s Reading Challenge was divided into three categories of readers. Category 1 was Infant-Kindergarten and Category 2 was for first through third grades, and these two categories counted the number of books read. Category 3 was for fourth through sixth grades and counted the number of pages read.
In the four weeks of the program, 66 participants read a total of 2,180 books  in Categories 1 and 2, and 15,856 pages in Category 3. The top three readers in each category included the following:
Category 1: Lily Roffman, 324 books; Kinley Krenzke, 300 books; Thomas Wilkes, 134 books.
Category 2: Mallory Berns, 65 books; Aaron Burke, 54 books; Adele Conway and Breckan Stewart, 49 books.
Category 3: Ashlyn Johnson, 5,672 pages; Alivia Bahr, 2,426 pages; Ryan VanderVelden, 2,232 pages.
Again this year, Experience Prizes were part of the SRP. Private tours were given by local businesses, organizations and City of Waukon departments to top readers, along with their family/friends, giving the kids added incentive to read. Experience Prizes were donated by Quillin’s Bakery, including cupcake decorating; KNEI Radio, including an opportunity to talk on the radio; WW Homestead Dairy, including free ice cream cone; Bruening Rock Products; Allamakee County Museum; Waukon Fire Department, including a ride on a fire truck; and Waukon Police Department, including a ride through the City Park. Winners of the Experience Prizes were Madelyn Marti, Lily Roffman, Kinley Krenzke, Mallory Berns, Aaron Burke, Ashlyn Johnson and Alivia Bahr.
Teen’s and Kid’s Make and Take activities were held each Wednesday afternoon during the SRP. A total of 75 children/16 teens participated in craft projects. Weekly crafts for the kids included Springy Super Hero, Marshmallow Shooter, Magnetic Jar and Spinning Top. Projects for the teens included Flextangles, Make-Your-Own Comic Book, Comic Book Magnets.
During the SRP, a Photo Booth was available to patrons along with super hero props. Many photos were taken throughout the four weeks.
Tuesday Story Time continued each Tuesday morning from 10:30-11 a.m. with a total of 259 in attendance throughout the summer. Volunteer readers included Erica Nosbisch from Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC), Ross Geerdes from Allamakee County Conservation, Cindy Curtin from NICC, Sue Kiesau, Alternate Allamakee County Dairy Princess Emily Miller, St. Patrick School Principal Katie Fahey and library staff.
Robey Memorial Library participated in the Allamakee County Fair Kid’s Day July 17. To promote the “Every Hero Has a Story" Summer Reading Program theme, the kids made Super Hero bookmarks. Robey Memorial also hosted the open house program "Snakes Alive" featuring Tom Kessenich, Herpetologist of Blanchardville, WI with his educational look at reptiles, featuring live snakes, an alligator and more.
Also at this year's fair, Wednesday, July 15 through Sunday, July 19, Robey Memorial Library (RML) Foundation and Board Trustees, and library staff were available at a booth in the Pavilion providing information and answering questions regarding the library collection, services, etc. Visitors were encouraged to sign up for daily drawings for free books, use the photo booth featuring super hero props, add to a comic strip, and kids could decorate a super hero mask.
Ellen Krousie, SRP Coordinator, attended a State Library-sponsored workshop last fall in preparation for the Summer Reading Program.