When the weather outside starts getting frightful, it's time to find some ideas for indoor activities that will keep everyone entertained and out of trouble. The Winter Reading & Activity Program (WRAP) arrives just in time. The Cumberland County Public Library’s annual month-long program offers everyone a chance to earn prizes for reading and participating in special activities.
The theme for this year’s Winter Reading Program is “Get Yeti to Read.” The program will run from Dec. 15, 2023 to Jan. 16, 2024. There are programs for all ages. Children will complete a five-hour reading log to receive a free book (one per customer) and an entry for a gift basket raffle (one per library location) and an entry into the multi-attraction Putt-Putt Fun Center grand prize drawing.
There are several great books for children to read by themselves or with their family. They can read "A Day So Gray" by Marie Lamba and see how friendship can transform a winter’s day from bleak to beautiful. Older children may enjoy "Snow Foal" by Susanna Bailey. In this story, 11 year-old Addie goes to live with a foster family on a remote farm and learns more about what is home when she rescues a wild foal.
This year, teens and adult will complete a row on a bingo card to win a prize: a free book for teens and a limited-edition sticky book for adults (one per customer, while supplies last). Teens also get an entry into the drawing for a gift basket (one per library location) and the multi-attraction Putt-Putt Fun Center grand prize. Adults will receive an entry into a drawing for a gift basket (one per library location) and the $100 gift card grand prize.
Some winter reads for teens include "Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves" by Meg Long, a story about survival, found family and the bond between a girl and a wolf. There is also Tracy Lynn’s "Snow," an alternative take on the story of Snow White where the princess runs away to London and falls in with a band of outcasts. Winter reads for adults include "Dead of Winter" by Darcy Coates, a story in which eight strangers and one killer are trapped in a remote cabin in the middle of a snowstorm.
WRAP is made possible thanks to the generosity of the Friends of the Cumberland County Public Library, Inc. For more information about WRAP or other programs, please visit the library’s website at https://www.cumberlandcountync.gov/library or call (910) 483-7727.
Heather Power is the services programming librarian and innovation librarian at the Cumberland County Public Library.
