Gordon-Nash Library to kick off summer reading program

NEW HAMPTON — The Gordon-Nash Library is offering its summer reading program to families of the Newfound area. This year’s theme is A Universe of Stories, and children’s programming will focus on the elements of the solar system and exploration of the universe beyond.

Three sessions will be offered each week. Evening programs, from 6:30-7:30 p.m., will feature performances and events for the whole family. On movie nights, family movies will be shown, rated PG. Thursday morning storytimes at 10:45 a.m. will focus on stories and crafts for children of all ages.

The 2019 Summer Reading Program blasts off Thursday, June 27, with a 6:30 p.m. family show, featuring award-winning New Hampshire children’s musician Steve Blunt and best-selling children’s author and illustrator Marty Kelley. Funding for this Kids, Books, and the Arts event is provided by the Jack and Dorothy Byrne Foundation, CHILIS, Cogswell Benevolent Trust, and is supported in part by a grant from the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as funds administered by the New Hampshire State Library and provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Other family events will be Creatures of the Night with live animals from the Squam Lakes Science Center and The International Space Station: Living and Working in Space presented by the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center. There will be a performance by Lindsay and her Puppet Pals as well as Fort Night, an opportunity to build a family fort and leave a stuffed animal to sleep over. The Summer Reading Program will end Aug. 7 with the annual All Star Talent Show, featuring performances by patrons young and old. Ice cream and a dance party will follow.

Sign up for the Summer Reading Program by visiting the library during regular hours and receive a schedule of events and materials to help children track summer reading progress. A special sign-up event will be held at the library on Saturday, June 22, from 11 a.m.-1:15 p.m., where program materials will be distributed and participants can have their photo taken in outer space.

The Gordon Nash Library is at 69 Main St. For questions, call 603-744-8061 or email chunewell.gnl@gmail.com.