Teens Can 'JOUST READ' All Summer Long

By Emily Daly, Young Adult Specialist

June 15 , 2005

School’s been out for less than a week and already that dreaded phrase is creeping to the forefront of teenagers’ brains…

Parents, you may know those two little words well: the ones that inevitably sneak out after too many days of sleeping until noon , watching reruns on TV and gazing bleary-eyed at the computer monitor.

Natrona County Public Library invites teens to banish “I’m bored” from their vocabularies by registering for JOUST READ, this year’s summer reading program geared toward students who have completed grades six through 12. JOUST READ encourages teens to explore the fantasy genre as they read, learn and have fun now through July 30 .

JOUST READ began last week with a Medieval Tourney, complete with a sword fighting demonstration by the local chapter of the Society for Creative Anachronism, and Joust Be Afraid, a library version of Fear Factor. The fun will continue as teens keep track of their reading to earn prizes such as coupons from McDonald’s and tickets to Casper Rockies games and as they attend activities sponsored by NCPL.

Summer readers who are as interested in the arts as they are in books will want to stop by the Nicolaysen Art Museum today at 2:00 p.m. to help create an enormous papier-mâché dragon that will be marched alongside the library’s bookmobile on Parade Day. Another opportunity to show off artistic prowess arises on July 7 at 2:00 p.m. with a hands-on workshop covering the history and culture of henna tattoo art. Teens will be invited to show off what they learn by creating their own henna tattoos.

Sports fans won’t want to miss a behind-the-scenes tour of the Casper Rockies, topped off with a picnic and a game at Mike Lansing Field on June 23 at 6:00 p.m. And if a game of cards is more their style, they’ll want to come to the library’s first official Magic the Gathering card tournament on July 14 at 5:00 p.m. to meet other Magic fans and win great Magic prizes.

Teens who have participated in NCPL’s Saturday Afternoon and Teen Book Clubs will be pleased to discover that the groups will continue to “Joust Read” and meet during the summer months, focusing their discussion on fantasy titles such as Christopher Paolini’s “Eragon,” to reflect the summer’s theme.

And if fantastical programs and book discussion groups aren’t tempting enough, teens are sure to be enticed by the possibility of winning JOUST READ’s grand prize, a $200 gift certificate to Eastridge Mall. All teens who participate in Summer Reading will be eligible for the gift certificate, whose winner will be drawn and announced at a celebratory Casper Rockies game on August 4.

So before teens have the chance even to think about being bored this summer, stop by Natrona County Public Library and sign them up to be a part of the mystical magic of JOUST READ. For more information about Summer Reading or to register teens for the programs mentioned above, please call 237-4935, ext. 101.

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