A Universe of Stories has been the theme for summer reading at local libraries, with the goal of keeping kids’ minds active. Students who took part in the summer reading programs at Washington Free Public Library earned prizes. Library director Bryna Walker, who has a background as a school librarian, says it’s important to have students continue reading during their summer vacation away from school, “If they don’t continue reading, their fluency and comprehension tend to go down. They kind of lose some of those skills, phonetic skills, just basic reading. It’s important to read at their instructional level. We do, you know, have an idea of when somebody reads to me or I can kind of tell what level they’re at, we do try to find a good fit for them. If they don’t know a series or if they’re looking for a particular series, we can help point them in the right direction. So we do urge kids to continue reading during the summer, which is why we have the incentive programs.” Walker adds that they collaborate with the Washington School District. During the month of July children and their families are encouraged to check out books and read together. There are also free programs including the Blank Park Zoo on July 9th and multiple movie madness days.