By Susan Motander
Perhaps one of the greatest joys in childhood is the day someone in the neighborhood buys a major appliance: a dishwasher, a water heater, or best of all, a refrigerator. This was not because of the appliance, but the box. It was fodder for the imagination of the neighborhood children. The dishwasher box could become a kitchen, the water heater’s – a rocket, and that refrigerator box could become a thousand things. It was a fort or a club house or a cozy library.
Someone at the Monrovia Public Library must have such warm memories, because on Saturday with the kickoff of the Summer Reading Program—in addition to karaoke in the Community Room and arts and crafts under a tent on the lawn—there was a huge pile of cardboard boxes to charge young imaginations.
Many of the young people worked together on a huge fort, but one young man, Dylan Bacon, 9, a home-schooled youngster from Monrovia, had a more creative idea. He turned himself into a sort-of cardboard-cyborg. In another part of the park, Amanda Lin, 12, taught her little sister, Alison, 4, the fine art of hula hooping. It was a great day.
Of course the Monrovia Reads Van was on hand to promote the reading program that has begun for the summer. It is not limited to children; everyone is encouraged to read not just this summer, but throughout the year. Whether a child, or a child at heart, go to cityofmonrovia.org/your-government/library/summer-reading to sign up for the reading program this summer.
