The Wareham Free Library’s Dream Big–Read, Own the Night, and Between the Covers summer reading programs for children, teens, and adults of all ages ended with a Teddy Bear Picnic and Story Walk on August 9. A total of 60 children, 14 teens, and 25 adults registered with the goal of reading  2– 4 hours a week, over seven weeks, for a grand total of 99 readers reading for 1431 hours. Prizes ranging from stickers to book bags were awarded over the summer for meeting weekly reading goals.

Winners of the summer reading bookmark design contest sponsored by the library’s teen advisory board were announced at the picnic. Four winning designs created by Emily Gallagher, age 8, Grace Ripley, age 8, Kiley Decas, age 11, and Shawna Pires, age 16, were made into bookmarks by Gateway Printing and are available for free to library visitors while supplies last. Stop in and pick one up at the Main Library, 59 Marion Road, or the Spinney Branch, 259 Onset Avenue.

The Friends of the Wareham Free Library prepared six gift baskets for raffle prizes that registered participants in the summer reading program entered each week to win. Collin Tetreault and Billy Gouveia were the lucky winners of the Dream Big–Read prize baskets. Roberta Whittemore and Noah Feeley won the Own the Night prize baskets and Laurie Lapworth and Jeanne McCarthy won the Between the Covers baskets.

Events over the summer included story times, live animal shows, StarLab planetarium visits, puppet shows, movie nights, and more. If you missed Lynda Ames’ presentation on weird episodes from local history - Murder, Mysteries, and Manifestions - she will present again on Wednesday, October 3, 7:00 p.m., at the Spinney Branch Library.

Numerous volunteers make the summer reading program activities at the library possible. The Wareham Free Library would especially like to thank Wendy Young, who produced and directed the annual children’s play, Goldie & the Three Bears; Gina Gallerani, who supervised student volunteers at weekly children’s craft sessions, and Children’s Room volunteer Marilyn Lakin. Thank you also to Portia Lauzon, a Wareham Middle School student, who donned the Honey Bear costume for  the “bear hunt” at the Teddy Bear Picnic. Teen volunteer shelvers at the library this summer included Noah Feeley, Joshua Childress, and Chris Childress. Student volunteers in the Children’s Department were Joseph Esconsales, Kendall Petrie, Leeannah Thomas, Tiffany Ward, and Grace Young.

Dream Big–Read, Own the Night, and Between the Covers summer reading programs are sponsored by your local library, the Massachusetts Library System, the Boston Bruins, the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, the Wareham Free Library Foundation, and the Friends of the Wareham Free Library.