Ed the Wizard will appear at the Wareham Free Library this Saturday, March 7 at 11:30 a.m. to kick off the "Wareham Reads" program.

Using bits of comedy, suspense, and many volunteers, Ed the Wizard weaves together a magical performance while emphasizing the importance of building and maintaining reading skills, according to the library staff. This free program is supported in part by a grant from the Wareham Cultural Council.

Wareham Reads is a six-week long event that will focus on kids reading books and parents reading with their kids. The past year the library has seen dramatic reductions in services and hours because of budget cuts, and Wareham's children are among those who have fallen victim to the reduced services.

"It's difficult for families and kids to get to the library with cut hours," said Marcia Hickey, who was previously the children's librarian, but due to staff cuts she must now work from the main circulation desk. "Parents are working on weekdays and Saturdays are busy, especially for kids with sports . . . It's difficult for kids to get here."

The Library will be using a national program called "1,000 Books Before Kindergarten" to help promote parents reading with their children. The goal is self-explanatory: to expose a child 1,000 books by parents, teachers, siblings, etc., by the time he or she reaches kindergarten.

Hickey said children and parents will be able to keep track of the books they read and kids will receive little rewards like certificates and stickers at milestones along the way.

Hickey hopes the program will help foster a love of reading for kids in the community. She said reading to kids is an enjoyable, bonding experience, and that studies show reading to young children will benefit them later in life.