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Writer's pictureStephanie Spangler

Summer Reading 2024 Begins!


Yes, it's been a very long time since I posted so here's a quick update on what's been going on. To be honest, I haven't really been working on personal stuff for a while now. After my dad's passing I have had a lot to take care of, including his garden! When I have had some spare time I have been spending most of it working on my miniature projects, which you can check out on Instagram. I have also been spending time on my annual commission - the Upper Merion Township Library Summer Reading Program displays! The full gallery of pictures can be seen in my Gallery of Work - Summer Reading section.


While the program already began this week on Monday, today is the official first day of summer so here I am finally posting about it. ha ha ha This year's theme was: Adventure Begins at Your Library! A lot of the images and promotional artwork for the national program seemed to focus more around a safari and camping theme, but I chose to go for a bigger theme revolving around travel in general. Sort of an Around the World in Eighty Days type of thing - which is why that is the book taking our Mr. Fox off on his adventure! I tried incorporating passports, luggage, and world monuments - anything travel related - to tie the whole thing together.

The one main difference this year is that instead of decorating the back wall of the library I had the opportunity to decorate the front windows instead. We found an old cardboard cut out of a car I had made for a different library program and used that to map out a road trip around the United States. I created post cards from several different landmarks in different states around the country and then connected them all with a wonky, winding road. The final destination - Valley Forge National Park!

To continue on the travel theme I even went deep into my memory and pulled a reference from Reading Rainbow for the inspiration for the hats in the display window. Do you remember the one? It was where LeVar put on different hats and traveled around on a variety of adventures depending on the style of hat he was wearing. After doing some internet searching I found that it was Season 5, Episode 6 - A Three Hat Day, which aired in 1987. Oof... just dated myself there, didn't I? Well, three-year-old me was enamored with the idea behind the episode and wished that I could transport myself via hat to wherever I wanted to go. Wouldn't that be an easier way to get to where you wanted to go?!


And finally, I was able to display my miniature pieces at the library as well. I tried to tie them into the theme too and incorporated book suggestions for each piece. That you can also find on Instagram or you can stop by the library until the end of June to check it out in person. Happy reading everyone!


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