Students enjoy library visit

After listening to six books, children were faced with the tough decision of having to pick just one as their own.

On Friday, first-grade students in Phyllis Timmons' and Brittney Montogmery's classes from Harrison Elementary School, visited the Sweetwater County Library to learn about the program Wyoming Reads and take a tour of the library.

Youth services manager Becky Iwen said Wyoming Reads started in Casper, but then expanded to include the entire state. This program is funded through the Sue Jorgensen Library Foundation and was created in 1996 by Sue's husband after she died.

According to the Wyoming Reads website, http://www.wyomingreads.org, in 2006, the program expanded to a statewide program. Each year, six hard-covered books of various reading levels are distributed to students across the state. How they are distributed to kids varies from school district to school district.

For Sweetwater County School District No. 2, first-grade students from the elementary schools visit the library, listen to the six books and then decide which book they would like. These visits take place throughout the months of December and January, Iwen said.

The books are then ordered and in May the children are treated to performances from the Green River High School Theater Department based on the six books. The children then receive one of those books, which are "Can I be Your Dog?" by Troy Cummings, "We Don't Eat Our Classmates!" by Ryan T. Higgins, "The Princess and the Pit Stop" by Tom Angleberger, "Twig" by Aura Parker, "Detective Dog," by Julia Donaldson and "Crunch, the Shy Dinosaur."

"These are the cutest books," resource teacher Lezlie Krysl said. "I haven't heard of them."

However, she said they are more contemporary and the kids seem to enjoy them.

Another perk for the students, was when they received their very own library card with their parents permission.

After selecting the book they wanted, the kids completed a writing activity and then toured the library.