WESTSIDE - Gravette Public Library's summer reading program, “Dig Into Reading,” for children ages 5 to 12, will be June 3-7 at the library, just east of the Civic Center. Sessions will be held from 10:30 a.m. to noon with special speakers and activities.

Monday’s program will be “Pirates,” with a guest host from station 101.5. Tuesday’s topic is “Dinosaurs” and will involve excavating for “dinosaur bones.” Wednesday’s scheduled speaker is a representative from the Old Spanish Treasure Cave with the topic “Gems.” Thursday will involve a change of pace, with a special guest speaker discussing another form of digging: “Gardening.” On Friday a guest speaker from Hobbs State Park in eastern Benton County will discuss “Animals Underground.”

The programs are all free, and children are invited to attend each and every day.

Age 2 to 5

Children, 2-5, are invited to attend and participate in the Tuesday Reading Program each week from 10:30 to 11 a.m. at the Gravette Public Library.

The half-hour event will include story time and craft time and the activities are “free, free, free”, said Kim Schneider, library director.

“A parent must stay with the child,” the director said. “Emphasis will focus on ‘play, learn and grow together’ each Tuesday morning,” she added.

For information, contact the Gravette Public Library at 787-6955.

Gentry Library

Gentry's Dig into Reading program will be held for children of all ages, with meetings every Tuesday and Thursday, from 10 to 11 a.m., beginning on Tuesday, June 4, at the library, on Main Street.

Each child signing up will receive a free library card at Gentry Public Library. The card will allow children to attend library programs, check out books, work on the library computers and load e-books.

Safety will be the theme of the June 4 and 6 sessions, with presentations by the police and fire departments.

In the weeks following, the focus will be on gardening, digging machines, archeology, dinosaurs, rocks, animals and crystals.

Each week will include new, fun activities for participating children.

For information or to sign up, call the Gentry Public Library at 736-2054.

Decatur Library

The summer reading program will begin June 17 and run through June 21. The hours of operation are from 10 to 11:30 a.m. each day, and it is open to children, 6 to 9.

Two activities planned for this year’s event include a visit from a representative of Hobbs State Park, who will talk about the forest and saving trees. A representative from the Spanish Treasure Cave will also present a part of the program called “Dig into Reading.” This activity deals with identifying and collecting rocks.

The program is free. Enrollment forms are available at the Decatur Public Library, located at 121 N. Main Street. For more information, contact Karen Jones at 752-7323.

News, Pages 6 on 05/29/2013