Dateline: Jun. 25, 2024

With school out for the summer, the public library started its Summer Reading Program on June 24th continuing until August 8th. The Summer Reading Program was made possible by donations from the community, including Allenstown Country Diner, Advanced Excavating & Paving, and Tri-Town Family Dental. The summer activities kicked off with the Wildlife Encounters Animal Show followed by almost weekly events.

The Summer Reading Program was designed to keep kids reading while they were out of school. Librarian Betsi Randlett explained that "Children who don't read during the summer often experience a 'summer slide' and lose critical reading skills when school is back in session. We try to keep them reading with fun events like animal and magic shows and weekly crafts. The children pick a goal to work towards during the summer, and as they work towards it, they earn raffle tickets for prizes like Canobie Lakes, Storyland, Chuckster's, and museum admissions."

Wildlife Encounters was on June 25th at 2 p.m. This was an hour-long presentation during which seven different animals were shown. These included an alligator, coatimundi, hedgehog, Tegu lizard, Giant Toad, snake, or parrot. Sometimes, they bring an animal that the children can safely touch.

Other events include the following:

July 1st - Stuffed Animal Sleepover
You can bring your stuffie anytime during the day and pick it up the next day. In a week, you will receive a picture journal of your stuffie's adventures!

July 9th, 2 p.m..- NH Telephone Museum Story Time
You'll hear a story, experiment with sound waves and make two crafts, including a Bee Buzzer!

July 15th, 2 p.m. - Lindsay & Her Puppet Pals
Sponsored by the Telephone Pioneers Keller Chapter.

July 22nd, 2 p.m. - Magic Fred Magic Show

Aug 1st, 11:00 a.m. - Smokey Bear & Forest Ranger Visit
Ranger Emily will read a story and there will be a meet & greet with Smokey Bear!

Aug 8th, 2 p.m. - New England Animals Petting Zoo
Visit with bunnies, chicks, ducklings, lambs, and more!

What You Can Do

The Allenstown Library is located at 59 Main St. For more information about any event, call 603-485-7651 or send e-mail to allenstownlib@comcast.net.