Summer Reading in North Orange

Photo: Children from Tricia Belloli's Country Cubs Family Day Care shown here are helping to reach the library's goal of 800 books goal by logging books read to them. Manuel King designed the bulletin board which will be used to track the readers' progress.


Patrons of all ages at the Moore-Leland Library in North Orange are reading to raise funds to build schools in remote areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. For every book read by Summer Reading Club members, the Friends of the Orange Public Libraries will contribute 25 cents to Pennies for Peace, the charity started by Greg Mortenson, author of Three Cups of Tea. Branch Librarian, Dianne Salcedo has challenged patrons to read 800 books by the end of August. Patrons are encouraged to read "Three Cups of Tea" in the regular or young people's edition or the picture book "Listen to the Wind." Programs about the book are planned for late summer or fall.

Orange Library Summer Program Blasts Off

PHOTO: George Pechmann from the Boston Museum of Science coaches Megan Ward in the science of rocketry as her mom, Kate looks on. Waiting their turn to launch their balloon rockets are Colleen Ward, Maggie Bramhall, and Phoenix Thompson. Kneeling in front, assistant Michelle Bezio helps Samuel Bennett ready his rocket for blast off.

The Wheeler Memorial Library's Summer Reading Program has blasted off with 214 participants registered, 407 hours of reading logged in at the library, and at least 50 children having completed their first chapter book. All of this was accomplished in the first 2 weeks of the program! The first special activity pictured above met with an excellent response from children excited by science. Over 100 people participated with each of four sessions filled to maximum capacity.

An extraordinary program for older teens is coming to the library next week when professional artists/ graphic novelists, Andy Fish and Veronica Hebard, will teach the techniques behind the very popular Japanese Magna style of illustration. This will be another hands on activity with the participants completing their own drawings. Andy and Veronica just opened a very well received exhibit of their art at a Boston Gallery. You can go to their web site to share in the excitement that surrounds their art. http://veronicahebs.blogspot.com/

Japanese Manga

Artists Andy Fish and Veronica Hebard will be at the Wheeler Memorial Library at 6:30 on Wednesday July 8 teaching a class for teens on Japanese Manga. This workshop will be a hands on , participatory drawing opportunity. Andy is a cartoonist, painter, illustrator and graphic novelist. His work has appeared in galleries all over the United States, and he has been published in five countries. He has done storyboards in TV and Film and continues to produce two graphic novels a year. His published graphic novels include Fly: A True Story Completely Made Up, The Tragic Tale of Turkey Boy, Jerry Claus, and The Return of Dark Santa. His upcoming titles include The Sorrowful Tale of Boris the Talking Cat, The Girl with the Really Big Thumbs, and an updated version of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, entitled Harker Wanted Man. Currently, Fish is hard at work on his graphic novel Batman: 1939 for DC comics with Veronica Hebard and Boston Globe editor Michael Warshaw. Veronica is influenced by Japanese mystique, “the line work, graphic design, and aesthetics, and their reinvention of Western pop culture." Her work has been published by Columbia Magazine, HalfPrice Books, Blank Canvas Magazine, Worcester Magazine, The Weekly Dig, Inkstains, Detour, and ArtScope Magazine. To see examples of their art visit http://www.hebsandfish.com/. The woman pictured will take you to Veronica's art while the man will take you to Andy's art.

This workshop is the first in Children's Librarian Candy Cross' exploration of visual literacy which is being funded by her Massachusetts Literacy Champion Award. This grant will also fund a second artist visit with Sarah Adam on July 28 at 2:00. More visual literacy workshops will occur in October.