WEEDSPORT - Normally the library is a place that tries to maintain a certain level of quiet, not a place to jump, dance, laugh out loud and sing.
Sam Tenney / The Citizen
Ithaca-based children's entertainer Tom Knight sings about the planets while wearing a model of the solar system on his head at the Weedsport Free Library Thursday morning.
Ithaca-based children's entertainer Tom Knight sings about the planets while wearing a model of the solar system on his head at the Weedsport Free Library Thursday morning.
But on Thursday afternoon at the Weedsport Free Library, the usual order of library business was turned upside down, at least for a little while.
Parents and children crowded into the children's section to celebrate the conclusion of the library's six-week long summer reading program, Catch the Summer Reading Bug, with a performance by singer, musician and puppeteer, Tom Knight, of Ithaca.
Diane Grant, assistant director of the library in charge of children's programs, said that this summer's reading program went well and the show was a fitting way to finish.
“We started right in July,” Grant said. “And we've been going ever since. We've had a large range of kids from kids going into kindergarten to kids going into middle school; I think it went really well. We had a lot of fun and we wanted to do something fun to wrap things up.”
With bugs as the program's major theme, Grant said it opened up a lot of possibilities for reading material and interactive projects and crafts.
When Grant heard about Knight's show, she thought immediately about how fitting it would be to have Knight perform at the library.
“This is the first time I've seen him perform,” Grant said. “But I heard such wonderful things about him I thought it would be great to be able to get him here.”
Knight's show, which incorporates music, dancing, a little bit of magic and puppets, touches on numerous topics from songs about the sounds animals make to the names of the planets and topics such as recycling.
“It is fun,” Grant said. “And it is also educational.”
Knight got the children and parents up and moving and laughing wildly with some of his rousing songs such as “Library Boogie” and “Rock-A-Billy-Goat Gruff.”
Rose Kline, of Auburn, brought her sons, Michael, 5, and Stephan, 10, to the show after attending the summer reading program.
“We were referred to the program,” Grant said. “And we wanted to see this. I have older kids and I've seen Tom Knight perform before and we just thought it would be a lot of fun to come here today.”
Many of the children involved in the program were eager to see Knight perform. Lexi Appleby, Julia Musengo and Emily Harding, all 9, said they enjoyed participating in this year's program and found Knight's show a lot of fun.
“I really liked our book group,” Appleby said. “And I thought this was pretty cool. I really liked all the puppets and the music too.”
After the show, Weedsport elementary school principal Tim Cowin helped Grant pass out treats and summer reading bugs to the children.
From the beginning of the program to Knight's show, Grant hoped the entire experience could tell the children, just how much the library has to offer.
“I hope everyone had fun,” Grant said. “I hope with the younger ones that they enjoyed being read to and that it will help them develop a joy of reading and that for the older ones it got them more interested in reading and that maybe they opened up some new books they might not have read otherwise. And I just hope everyone had fun and enjoyed it all.”
Parents and children crowded into the children's section to celebrate the conclusion of the library's six-week long summer reading program, Catch the Summer Reading Bug, with a performance by singer, musician and puppeteer, Tom Knight, of Ithaca.
Diane Grant, assistant director of the library in charge of children's programs, said that this summer's reading program went well and the show was a fitting way to finish.
“We started right in July,” Grant said. “And we've been going ever since. We've had a large range of kids from kids going into kindergarten to kids going into middle school; I think it went really well. We had a lot of fun and we wanted to do something fun to wrap things up.”
With bugs as the program's major theme, Grant said it opened up a lot of possibilities for reading material and interactive projects and crafts.
When Grant heard about Knight's show, she thought immediately about how fitting it would be to have Knight perform at the library.
“This is the first time I've seen him perform,” Grant said. “But I heard such wonderful things about him I thought it would be great to be able to get him here.”
Knight's show, which incorporates music, dancing, a little bit of magic and puppets, touches on numerous topics from songs about the sounds animals make to the names of the planets and topics such as recycling.
“It is fun,” Grant said. “And it is also educational.”
Knight got the children and parents up and moving and laughing wildly with some of his rousing songs such as “Library Boogie” and “Rock-A-Billy-Goat Gruff.”
Rose Kline, of Auburn, brought her sons, Michael, 5, and Stephan, 10, to the show after attending the summer reading program.
“We were referred to the program,” Grant said. “And we wanted to see this. I have older kids and I've seen Tom Knight perform before and we just thought it would be a lot of fun to come here today.”
Many of the children involved in the program were eager to see Knight perform. Lexi Appleby, Julia Musengo and Emily Harding, all 9, said they enjoyed participating in this year's program and found Knight's show a lot of fun.
“I really liked our book group,” Appleby said. “And I thought this was pretty cool. I really liked all the puppets and the music too.”
After the show, Weedsport elementary school principal Tim Cowin helped Grant pass out treats and summer reading bugs to the children.
From the beginning of the program to Knight's show, Grant hoped the entire experience could tell the children, just how much the library has to offer.
“I hope everyone had fun,” Grant said. “I hope with the younger ones that they enjoyed being read to and that it will help them develop a joy of reading and that for the older ones it got them more interested in reading and that maybe they opened up some new books they might not have read otherwise. And I just hope everyone had fun and enjoyed it all.”
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