Dig into Reading @ Virginia Public Library!

Dig Into Reading Logo

We’ve kicked off our summer reading program at Virginia Public Library with a huge bang.  Yesterday was our first day of open registration and we already have 277 participants signed up to read this summer.  That is so awesome!  What a way to go, Virginia! 

This will be a great summer packed with fun events for our summer readers.  Thursdays are fun days at the library and we’ve got something planned for every Thursday in June and July.  Our June highlights include a visit on June 6th by the Minnesota Zoomobile, followed by a visit on June 13th from James Pointer from the Soudan Underground Mine with  a “Survivor: Underground!” program.  This will be followed on June 20th with a drawing workshop by Monkey with a Tool belt author/illustrator Chris Monroe.  On June 27^th both the Friends of the Library and the Virginia Community Education Department will welcome Twin Cities’ musician Paul Spring for a fun family music program.

Heading into July, we’ll host our annual 4^th of July week treasure hunt followed by the Great Lego Dig.  On July 18^th the Minnesota Science Museum will bring their “Digging up Dinosaurs” program to the library and on July 25^th magic will fill the air when the Amazing Charles visits Virginia once again.

Squirrel & Skunk Reading Together

As much fun as all this sounds, I have to say that these fun events aren’t the main reason why we are working so hard to keep kids reading during the summer.  Did you know that kids who participate in an organized reading program at their local library are more likely to be reading at or above grade level by the beginning of their next school year?  In addition, kids who read during the summer not only have fun reading, but also create a lifelong habit of reading.  That can only be a good thing for our community!

The library has a great online program that lets kids participate from wherever they have an internet connection.  This makes it easy and fun to record summer reading as well as write book reviews.  Last year our elementary students wrote more than 5,000 reviews.  Hmmmm, reading and writing during the summer…  No wonder library kids do so well in school.

Chipmunk Borrowing Library Books

So, if you haven’t signed up for our reading program yet, don’t wait.  Just go to www.virginia.lib.mn.us and click on the Dig into Reading logo to get started.  Or, see me in the Children’s Room.  Our weekly events are posted in the library and on the event calendar at our website.

Don’t miss out on all the fun of reading (and writing)!

Dawn Heisel -- Children’s Librarian

Brown Bag Lunch: Local Author Sarah Stonich

Author Sarah Stonich

The Arrowhead Library System and the Friends of Virginia Public Library are sponsoring a visit by Minnesota Author Sarah Stonich at noon on May 16th in the library auditorium. The author will talk about her new book, Vacationland, which is set in Northern Minnesota and published by the University of Minnesota Press. 

At the heart of the book is Naledi Lodge, inspired by those rustic Mom & Pop resorts now disappearing along with their big fish, bad mattresses, wood docks, flashlight trots to the outhouse, bear-fear, and bonfires. Up north vacations might not always live up to the brochures' versions of canoe paddling under pine-scented skies; in the fine print of rusted beer cans on the trail or a barbed hook through a thumb lies a more realistic picture of Vacationland.

Vacationland Cover

Sarah's first novel, These Granite Islands, was translated into eight languages, won numerous awards, and was Barnes & Noble Discover New Writers pick. The author, originally from Duluth, now makes her home in Minneapolis with her husband Jon and spends summers on a small lake in northern St. Louis County. 

This event is sponsored by the Arrowhead Library System and the Friends of Virginia Public Library. It is funded by money from Minnesota’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. The author will be available for book signing after the presentation. Books are available for purchase at the main desk of the library.

Cookies and coffee will be provided by the Friends of the Virginia Public Library. For more information, check the event calendar at www.virginia.lib.mn.us or call 748-7525.