The tidy little library located in Bellevue City Hall became a window on the world for children this summer. Bellevue Librarian Patty Gilman introduced kids to stories about art, music, dance, food and games from many countries, including the United States.
Gilman threw a party last week for 121 eager young readers and their families at Bellevue Memorial Park. The kids, ages 1-12, participated in the library's six-week Summer Reading Program, which ended July 20.
The theme for this year's reading program was "One World, Many Stories."
"We celebrated the similarities and differences of different cultures around the world," Gilman said. "We made crafts, cooked and played games from around the globe."
The Summer Reading Program is the library's most popular children's literacy-outreach program. The top readers were honored on Saturday at Memorial Park.
The 5-years-old-and-under winners were Larae Zimmerman, Adrian Avila, Charlie Wendland, Parker Bridge, Kahadijah Pattlan and Dianis Cibrain.
The top readers in the first-to-third-grade group were Brandon Pattlan, Lillianna Bridge, Luke Baker, Isaac Koleman, Molly Doyle and Bella Hadam.
The fourth-to-sixth-grade winners were Alex Baker, Ali Barney, Trinity Hadam, Izel Posados, and Gracie Robles.
The All Star Families awards went to kids that bring their younger siblings and cousins to the library for reading programs, to check out books and read to them at home.
"These are very special kids," Gilman said.
All Star Family awards went to Kenia, Jose and David Gonzalez (age 2); Marisol Marquez and her relatives, Isai Mendoza, Eric Chavez, Isaac Villa and Nachito (age 1); and Enrique, Citlali and Adrian Dolores (age 2).
Gilman said she had fewer kids turn out for the Summer Reading Program this year because she was unable to fund the Bellevue Library's First Book Program at the Bellevue Elementary School.
"I am seriously hoping to change that for the upcoming school year," Gilman said.
The First Book Program, funded by the Idaho Commission for Libraries, provided a book a month for nine months to children from low-income families, as well as free literacy workshops for families. Funding for the program ran out last year, so Gilman is seeking donations to continue it.
The Bellevue Library's Jumpstart Program introduces parents and children to library services by enrolling them during kindergarten registration and providing a free book to each child. The library also offers several ongoing initiatives, including Literacy Partnerships with the Hunger Coalition and Bellevue Elementary School, free access to computers, story hours and other literary events.
Gilman recently organized the first Bellevue Garden Tour to help fund the library.
Tony Evans: tevans@mtexpress.com
