Cashmere Library starts the summer with a reading program for series

By WILL NILLES
Reporter at Ward Media

CASHMERE – Each week the local library is bustling with activity as children and parents come together to learn, read and craft as part of the Cashmere Public Library’s many summer events and programs, including the first ever read-aloud program.

The Read Aloud Summer Series begins June 18 and takes place every Tuesday at 4 p.m. It encourages elementary and middle school-aged children to visit the library and listen to chapters from various books while drawing and coloring. The main goal of the program is to introduce young readers to different genres and help local children develop and discuss their reading interests.

The Cashmere Public Library described the benefits of reading aloud programs by stating, “Reading aloud is proven to increase vocabulary and reading comprehension, improve reading skills, develop imagination, reduce stress, and much more!”

Cashmere Branch Librarian Lisa Lawless expressed her excitement for this year’s summer programs as she pointed to the Summer Library Reading River, a wall covered in hundreds of paper salmon, each representing a participant in the library’s summer programs.

“We have over 300 registrations so far, everyone who has registered has put their fish in the water, so that’s a good indicator that our Summer Library Reading River is filling up. So that’s great, we want it to fill up!”

Summer Series Read Aloud programme organiser and presenter Ashley Harrod commented on the Series Read Aloud programme and its aims: “This is something we are trying for the first time this summer. The books we are reading are from a range of genres. The idea is to firstly introduce young readers to the joy of reading and secondly to introduce them to different authors and genres and types of books that they might not choose themselves, to broaden their reading horizons, so to speak.”

Another focus of the reading series is to encourage young readers to engage more deeply with the books and genres they enjoy. The last fifteen minutes of each reading session is open for children to talk about their reading needs and interests with library staff, who will help them find resources to read aloud and more books to explore.

Harrod further described her goal of encouraging engagement with young readers and their families, mentioning a problem many older children encounter: “A children’s story time, like the one my colleague offers for the zero to five age group, is fun because you can do the rhymes and songs to go with the stories to keep the children engaged for a time. With older children, I think sometimes a little of that engagement gets lost because a lot of it is silent reading or reading that they do on their own, and if they’re struggling with the book, it can be discouraging as a reader.”

Harrod further revealed what she is focusing on: “The idea is that we can read books together and of course I encourage families to come along too. So if parents are interested in our reading materials, they are welcome to take some of them with them.”

The reading materials available at each of the Tuesday events come from readaloud.org, a website that promotes the benefits of reading aloud to children. The materials include a range of helpful resources, from reading calendars and bookmarks to help families keep track of their reading, to informative worksheets for parents to help their children explore the possibilities of reading literacy.

Harrod concluded her thoughts with an important statement: “Just fifteen minutes of reading a day is incredibly helpful in introducing children to different words and vocabulary, building their critical thinking skills and language skills, and it all doesn’t take up much time.”

For more information about Cashmere Public Library’s Summer Read Aloud Series and the entire summer library program, visit ncwlibraries.org or call (509) 782-3314, extension 272.

Will Nilles: (509) 731-3211 or [email protected]