The Santa Fe New Mexican from Santa Fe, New Mexico • Page Z016

A summer reading list for kids Public Libraries offer fun, free reading programs By Patricia West-Barker Even if your body is stuck at home for the summer, your mind can explore faraway places: All it takes is a good book. To help you choose a place to start, we offer the following recommendations from the Bee Hive bookstore for kids. li.L 6- Ikt--4e) uz Special programs supported by the Friends of the Santa Fe Public Library provide an incentive to keep kids and teens reading the books they choose over summer break. Kids who register for the events at their local library at the end of May receive a reading log and a goodie bag. There are weekly prize drawings for all and a grand prize drawing for a bicycle at the end of the program.

Live performances and crafts programs encourage readers to check in at the library every week. Find updated summer reading program information for all three branches at santafelibrary.org or call for details specific to your local branch: Santa Fe Public Library, Main Branch 145 Washington 505-955-6837 All the World by Liz Garten Scanlon is sales associate Krista Isaksen's favorite book for the youngest set. A series of vignettes that illustrate the interconnections among various parts of the world and its residents, the book also has a special place in the heart of Christian Nardi, the bookstore's owner. "It was one of my favorite books to read to my kids," she says. Nardi also recommends Little Owl's Day by Divya Srinivasan, which sets the wonders of day in a pretty pastel palette.

Bloom by Doreen Cronin is Isaksen's choice for a slightly older audience. When the kingdom's glass palace springs a leak, the inhabitants are forced to turn to Bloom, a very muddy retired fairy, for help. Nardi is taken with The Night Gardener by Terry and Eric Fan. "It's a stunningly illustrated story about a sad town that's brought together and transformed by unexpected magic every morning," she says. :11 Oliver La Farge Branch 1730 Llano 505-955-4863 Southside Branch 6599 Jaguar Drive, 505-955-2828 From June 8 through the last week in July, Vista Grande Public Library (14 Avenida Torreon, Eldorado) is hosting "On Your Mark, Get Set, Read," a summer reading program featuring games, sports, exercise and prizes for participants as well as good books.

Call 505-466-7323 for more information. LI ".71, t7 A.1,-,, i 'c 'T'll )14 -7)-- 1 For classic storytelling with "a wildness to it," Isaksen recommends Pax by Sara Penneypacker. The story follows Peter and his best friend, Pax the fox, after they're forced to separate and their quest to reunite. Nardi adds Summerlost by Ally Condie to the summer reading list. After suffering a devastating loss, a 12-year-old girl's job at her town's annual Shakespeare festival "leads to adventure, mystery and, ultimately, healing," she says.

tdina, Bee Hive 2016 Summer Writing Workshops a mIndscarte that you 11 never want Summer writing workshops at the Bee Hive "are meant to be a place for kids to come and be creative in an intimate, supportive, no-pressure environment," says Nardi. "There is opportunity to take walking tours, do origami, read together, snack in the front yard and support each other as writers." Illuminae: The Illuminae Files 1 by Arnie Kaufman a novel she describes as "Star Wars meets Hunger Games" is Isaksen's first choice for book lovers ages 13 to 18. It's a blend of futuristic sci-fi thriller and romance that tells its story via found documents, texts, IMs classified files and more. Isaksen also is partial to The Love That Split the World by Emily Henry, a coming-of-age story tinged with romance and embedded in dual realities and magical realism. For young adults, Nardi also recommends Rebel in the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton a magical story set in the Middle East that combines fantasy, horses, guns and romance and sucks you in, leaving you hanging for a sequel and The Haters by Jesse Andrews, which she calls "a hilarious road trip story about three friends who decide to ditch band camp and go on tour instead." Feeling left out of all the book-loving fun? The Bee Hive also has a book club for grown-ups that chooses a new title and meets once a month.

Find the Bee Hive bookstore at 328 Montezuma Santa Fe. KAUFMAN JAY KRISTOFF ILLUMINAE-' 7-11E ii-LAJNA)AE. 'et AMIE KAUFMAN J.AY May 23-27 and Aug.1-5: Finding the Spark The fundamental elements of crafting a story using art, nature, people, each other and more to inspire and spark creativity. Aug. 8-12: Getting Crafty A deeper dive into the elements of a story, from that great first sentence to a wonderful wrap-up.

All workshops, for kids ages 8 and up, meet from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. both inside and outside the bookstore. Each session costs $199 plus tax. 16 2016 KIDS SUMMER.