I solemnly swear that this will be the last column about the summer reading program for weeks and weeks and weeks. I also promise to keep this short and to the point, to the best of my ability. “Short and to the point” isn’t my strong suit!
Our readers were divided into several groups for the summer reading program. The youngest of our patrons, ages birth through two years, are the Rubber Duckies. There were 10 Rubber Duckies signed up for the program. Virginia Lytle had 100 books read to her and came away with first place and a pop-up tunnel to play in. Rilynn Doman came in second place with 64 books and received an electronic animal book. Third place went to Brian Traffas with 53 books; he received a 50 flaps board book.
Our next group was the Nonreaders. We had 23 signed up; the top three having the most books read to them were Trevyn Flora, Lucy Schwerdtfeger, and Harlee Cox. Trevyn had 230 books read to him and he received a light-up board. Lucy listened to 155 books and received a large badminton game. Harlee had 130 books read to her and a wooden turtle puzzle was her reward.
There were 19 young readers signed up who kept track of the titles of the books they read. First place with 235 books was Shaylee Flora. Second place with 101 books was Callan Traffas. Third place with 78 books went to Kellen Barnes. Shaylee took a moon lamp home for her efforts, Callan walked away with a drone, and Kellen received a Lite-Brite set.
There were also readers who kept track of the time they read instead of the titles of the books. The top three readers in this group of 55 were Darcie Miltner, Stuart Schmucker, and Alayna Flora. Darcie read 87.5 hours and received a moon lamp. Stuart read 75.75 hours and became the owner of a drone. Alayna read 75 hours and took a kinetic sand castle home.
Our top three teen readers out of the 12 signed up were Elijah Schmucker with 110 hours, Piper Bishop with 95 hours, and Meara Bishop with 75 hours. The first-place prize for Elijah was a solar charger. Piper received a deluxe comfort lounge and Meara added the soothing sight of shifting sands to her personal belongings.
The top three adult readers, of the 45 signed up, were Myrna Sutter, Ruth Shelite, and Carroll Moore. Myrna read 200 hours and was happy to take home a Shiatsu Back and Neck Massager. Ruth read 141 hours and received a hammock; the perfect thing for someone who recently retired and loves to read. Carroll Moore read 140 hours and now owns a comfort pillow, which according to her husband, she is already quite fond of.
We had 75 prizes that participants had the opportunity to put entries towards during the 7-week program. These prizes included puzzles, games, kits, books, a doll house, a mega water gun, a blanket, slime, kinetic sand, and a bunch of other kind of cool things.
It was a good summer reading program and we are thankful for all of the participants for making it so. We will start working on next summer’s program towards the end of September or the beginning of October. There are things we want to change; we are hoping to make it easier for the moms of the littles. There is additional programming we want to do next summer that will take time to plan. We are already throwing around ideas and we would love for you to throw your ideas and suggestions in the mix! Who better to help with the planning than the participants? What kind of activities would make you reach for a book you would not normally read? What would make your child choose a book over a screen? How could we streamline the program in a way that could be easier incorporated into busy lives? You know where to find us; we have an open mind and we would appreciate hearing any answers you have to these questions.
We are just days away from the start of the signup for 
The word that would best describe this column is farraginous. It is great to read something that flows as smoothly as the brown waterfall of enticing sweetness that cascades from a chocolate fountain. I’d say this column will be more like a popcorn machine: mixed up, jumbled together, and randomly chaotic.
Now just to take the challenge up a notch, we will be having our