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FARMINGTON – Wednesday evening marked the 13th annual Prime Time Reading Night held at Mallett School, just one of many activities of Autumn Book Community Book Week celebrations that have been going on and will continue through Saturday.
The night’s festivities included guest readers and smaller groups in classrooms reading bedtime stories, along with an opportunity for the young students to sit close and cozy in the gym with parents and friends while they listened to the many people who read aloud. Among them was Maine author Fran Hodgkins who shared her new book, “Who’s been Here? A Tale in Tracks.”
All wearing a variety of colorful pajamas and robes, both parents and children sat with their own books in hand, or tucked close to their chests. Sisters Emily and Gabrielle Austen, along with their friend Farrah Ballou were excited and happy with the stories they had heard, all three girls said they had tons of fun at the end of the night.
“Book Week is really about celebrating books and reading,” said Betsy Turcotte, Mallett School’s librarian who has played a large role in the week’s planning and execution.
Along with the community building excitement for reading, the week is intended also to raise money for the Mallett School Library. All week long, Devaney, Doak & Garrett Booksellers is hosting an in-store book fair with 20 percent of the profits from the sales going directly to the Mallett Library. To spice up the deal, there is also a competition scavenger hunt for any Mallett school student who can find the “Wild Thing” hidden somewhere in the store.
And there is still more excitement to come. Tomorrow, Friday, Nov. 6 at 2 p.m., there will be a book character parade where children are being asked to pick their favorite character from a book and dress up as them to march downtown. The community is encouraged to come out and cheer on the parade participants to help get kids excited about books and reading.
The fun continues on Saturday with Donuts for Dads beginning at 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Nov. 7 at Devaney, Doak & Garrett Booksellers. The donuts are free and proceeds will continue to benefit the Mallett School library.
