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Booker owl in a hot air balloon, which is striped white and green with the Hi circle in blue.

Summer Reading Adventures for Everyone

emilyhcls Leave a comment
Booker owl in a hot air balloon, which is striped white and green with the Hi circle in blue.

by Jean B. and Emily B., Central Branch

Choose your own adventures as you read, explore, and experiment this summer.
Visit hclibrary.org/summer for more details on Summer Reading Adventures for all ages.

GET STARTED
For all ages! Find the summer reading adventure that’s right for you and your family. Separate game boards available for ages 0 – 5, 6 – 10, teens, and adults.

READ & DO ACTIVITIES
Each time you read or do an activity, you complete a step toward finishing the game. Reading includes print books, e-books, audiobooks, magazines — whatever you like!
Find additional activities, book lists, classes, events, and more at hclibrary.org/summer.

WIN A PRIZE
When you complete your adventures (reading and activities), complete a finisher’s form available at any HCLS location or online. Pick up a prize (while supplies last) in person August 1 – 31.

Reading is always an adventure, right? A good book can make you an explorer of a different place, time, perspective, or personality. And you know where to find all kinds of books and knowledgeable “tour guides:” our six library branches. But the 2023 Summer Reading Adventure will take you beyond books and beyond buildings with exciting experiences for children and families. Besides reading together, you can build foundations for literacy and support the skills of young readers with a wide range of activities — whether you’re outside observing nature or inside creating and experimenting. We’re here to feed your adventurous spirit!

If you go to Savage Branch, you can explore the outdoor Storywalk, soaking up the beautiful words and images of Eve Bunting’s Flower Garden and Eric Carle’s Where is the Sun? as you stroll. Nature adventures happen weekly at Central Branch, weather permitting, with Wednesday morning classes on the patio — maybe you’ll observe an itsy-bitsy spider when you sing its song!

Wander through the Enchanted Garden at Miller Branch to find the two new resident foxes and learn their names, while observing the different kinds of flowers, herbs, and vegetables that are growing.

To add sports and engineering into your adventure, help create a giant miniature golf course at Glenwood Branch. You can learn all about the Cardboard Challenge at an information session on June 28, get a starter kit of supplies, and then put your engineering and creative talents to the test as you build your one-of-a-kind mini-golf hole at home. Everyone brings their creations back to the library in July, then plays a community golf game for the record books.

If you’re looking for an adventure in art, head to East Columbia Branch on Wednesday evenings where 6-9 year olds and their adults can learn about great artists from Kahlo to Kandinsky, then create masterpieces. Makers of all ages find fun at Elkridge Branch, where families can work their way through STEM exploration stations, preschoolers can participate in weekly STEAM activities, and teens can create a stop motion movie with LEGO™ blocks. And when the adventure winds down in August, stay tuned for the STEAM Carnival at Miller Branch – an opportunity to share your experiences, projects, and inspiration.
Come to your libraries – adventure awaits!

For Teens:

Join the Quest! Earn treasure as you travel through books, stream music or movies, and have fun with experiments and games. Your local library contains everything you need to succeed. Stop by any branch to receive a gameboard and a Tshirt (while supplies last)! Visit online and in person with your ideas, questions, and enthusiasm.

For Adults:

If you thought that all the Summer Reading fun at the library was just for kids, think again! Visit any library branch to pick up a Reading Journal and participate in our adult Reading Challenge. Each journal contains 13 challenge prompts, intended to guide you through a year of reading.

Not sure what book to read for a certain prompt? A list of suggested titles chosen by our staff is provided for each theme. These challenges offer an opportunity to read outside of your comfort zone, discover new authors, and explore different genres.

To complete your Summer Reading Adventure, finish any three challenges or read three books of your choosing. Between August 1 – 31, visit any HCLS branch to complete a finisher’s card. Finishers are then entered into our end-of-summer prize drawings and receive a limited-edition prize while supplies last.

Kick off your summer reading journey with the online Adult Summer Reading Showcase on Tuesday, June 6 at 7 pm. Join our instructors online as we share our top picks for summer reads. With genre-spanning recommendations, from thrillers to nonfiction and everything in between, you’re bound to learn about some new books and authors of interest. You may find a few titles to add to your TBR (to-be-read) list!

Jean B. is a Children’s Instructor and Research Specialist at the Central Branch who loves reading books for all ages when she isn’t enjoying the outdoors.

Emily is an Instructor & Research Specialist at the Central Branch. She enjoys puzzling, reading, listening to music, and re-watching old seasons of Survivor.

The main characters of DeadEndia: The Watcher's Tesst appear against a segmented background of devilish figures.

DeadEndia & Dead End: Paranormal Park

ashbakerhcls Leave a comment
The main characters of DeadEndia: The Watcher's Tesst appear against a segmented background of devilish figures.

by Ash B.

Set in haunted amusement park themed around the life and career of fictional actress-superstar Pauline Phoenix, the world of DeadEndia is full of spooky, supernatural fun. If you’ve got a Netflix account and a kid older than 7, or you’re fan of cartoons with great representation, you’ve probably heard about Dead End: Paranormal Park. The Netflix show was adapted from a graphic novel series called DeadEndia, which you can borrow from the library.

The main characters of Norma, Barney, and Pugsley began as an animated web short for Cartoon Hangover. Creator Hamish Steele used this as inspiration for a new webcomic, which, in turn, became DeadEndia: The Watcher’s Test and DeadEndia: The Broken Halo graphic novels. The third and final book is anticipated to release next year.

I was first introduced to the world through the graphic novels – so, imagine my excitement when one of my favorite reads became an extremely well-adapted animation! The show diverges quite a bit from the graphic novels in some ways, particularly how the main characters meet and the story begins. From there, the first episode of the show lines up pretty closely with the first chapter of DeadEndia: The Watcher’s Test. The demon king is summoned and possesses Barney’s dog, Pugsley, instead of one of the humans as planned; Norma cleverly figures out how to defeat the demon king; Pugsley is left with magical powers, including the ability to talk. The story continues with a balance of paranormal adventures, such as “monster of the week” style demon-fighting episodes/chapters, along with the emotional rollercoasters of personal identity, mental health, romance, and family struggles.

The novels strongly resonated with me because of the way Barney’s transmasculine experiences were included. In both the comics and the show, we find out that he was primarily interested in getting a job so that he could gain independence from his parents. The show allows for more development of Barney’s relationship, though. I think the cast and crew nailed it, with a family that goes through realistic misunderstandings and growing pains, but makes it through the rough patch to fully embrace the LGBTQ+ kid. 

The graphic novels have a special place in my heart for certain heartwarming details. For example, Barney gives Pugsley a copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar as he learns to read, and Pugsley compares Barney to the titular caterpillar. Pugsley eventually clarifies: “My comparison was due to the fact that we all start off looking and sounding a little different to how we turn out. Some more than others. But that doesn’t change who we are on the inside.” This line, especially in the context of the rest of the chapter (which I won’t spoil here), is so gentle and comforting to a trans reader like me. 

Probably the most notable point of difference between the show and comics is the target audience. The comics are aimed at young adults (ages 14+), with Barney, Norma, and their peers being in their early twenties. When adapted for the small screen, the characters were aged down to be in their teens and the material made suitable for a younger audience. The graphic novels can be enjoyed by teens and adults alike, and you can borrow them in print from HCLS. 

Ash is an Instructor & Research Specialist at Central Branch and is a co-facilitator for Reads of Acceptance, HCLS’ first LGBTQ-focused book club. Their favorite place to read is spread out on a blanket under the shade of the tree.