Plus, some resources.
Jun 16, 2025
BAR HARBOR—What do cockroaches, stick bugs, and snapping turtles have in common? They all helped kick off summer reading in Bar Harbor.
Mr. Drew and His Animals Too wowed young readers on Saturday with live animal presentations to celebrate the start of Jesup’s Summer Reading Program.
“Mr. Drew and His Animals, Too were in Bar Harbor on Saturday to help young readers kick off Jesup’s Summer Reading Program. Mr. Drew, a Maine-based animal expert, shared his knowledge about cockroaches, stick bugs, snapple turtles, a boa constrictor, and more with two groups of enthusiastic kids at the YWCA. After the presentation, families were encouraged to come up and interact with some of the animals,” said Jesup Memorial Library Youth Services Librarian Abby Morrow, Saturday.
The events packed the YWCA MDI as kids and parents filled the gym floor while the always enthusiastic and ultra-informative Mr. Drew brought out animals and facts to share.
“The turtle was awesome! Turtles are my favorite animal,” Emmy told Morrow.
Ada thought the event was awesome, too. “Incredible—it was so cool. I liked the boa constrictors and the snapping turtles.”
Some of the parents seemed just as excited as the kids for the chance to see and touch the animals. Mr. Drew carried the presentation with a knowledgable and witty presence that combined showmanship with a desire to give kids (and their caregivers) facts that help them both understand and protect animals. That double focus and lively flare coincides with the library’s mission for its summer reading program.
“We’re so excited to kick off our summer reading program. This year, we’re focusing on STEAM programming (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math). We’ll host programs every Saturday and kids can sign up for our Summer Reading BINGO to win great prizes and be entered to win a weekly raffle prize courtesy of a local business,” Morrow said.
Summer reading and learning is a worry for educators and librarians and others throughout the country.
“Summer learning loss or setback, often referred to as the ‘summer slide,’ is a devastating loss of academic achievement students experience during the summer months. It is estimated that, on average, students lose two months of grade-level mathematical computation skills over the summer, and low income students can lose up to two months of reading achievement,” according to a paper by the New York State Library.
Morrow also wanted to thank everyone who helped bring Mr. Drew to the library via the YWCA.
“Thank you to Mr. Drew and his team and thank you to our Summer Reading Program sponsors: Bar Harbor Bank and Trust, First National Bank, Machias Savings Bank, and Bangor Savings Bank and all the local businesses who contribute prizes for our weekly raffle. Big thanks to the YWCA for sharing their space for the event. We really appreciate it!” she said.
LINKS TO LEARN MORE
Kids are welcome to sign up for the Jesup’s Summer Reading BINGO by clicking this link: https://forms.gle/acLqqReH5vmq2PBZ9.
More information about the Jesup’s Summer Reading Program can be found here: https://www.jesuplibrary.org/summer-reading
More information about the Jesup Memorial Library.
LINKS ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF SUMMER READING VIA THE NEA
- The Importance of Summer Reading, a research brief on summer reading and public library summer reading programs
- The Summer Reading Imperative, Kids and Family Reading Report from Scholastic
- Summer Reading: English Language Learners at the Library
- Summer Reading and the Rich/Poor Achievement Gap
- How Educators Can Strengthen Summer Reading Connections with Families
SOME IDEAS AND ACTIVITIES FROM THE NEA
- Start a summer reading club. Book Club Basics from NEA’s Read Across America has ideas to help launch a summer book club for kids focused on reading fun and diverse book choices.
- Head to Start with a Book for free themed toolkits featuring five days of reading and learning fun with dozens of carefully chosen fiction and nonfiction book recommendations, hands-on activities, writing ideas, and apps and websites to deepen learning.
- Check out Summer of Adventure from PBS KIDS for Parents.
- Reading is Fundamental’s Summer Reading Camp offers a collection of downloadable activities and book recommendations.
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