Summer Reading Club: Gone Fishin'

We are about to put up a Gone Fishin’ sign on the PCBC Library door.

Picture it in your mind. What else conveys the dreamy, summer-inspired urge to just close up shop and go fishing? Whoever posts a Gone Fishin’ sign has closed the door on obligations and the daily grind in order to get closer to nature and enjoy some peace and quiet.

 

 

Fishing is a remarkable way to practice some very biblical spiritual disciplines. Silence. Contemplation. Patience. If it takes a long time for a fish to bite, we may add fasting and prayer to the list. Fishing causes us to slow down and rest. And since our tasty bait or lures may or may not work to attract a fish, we must learn to trust in God’s provision.

No wonder fishing is such a rich metaphor throughout Christian life and literature!

But let us not be coy and misleading. When we put up our Gone Fishin’ sign here in the Library, it’s a signal that our 2016 Summer Reading Club is under way.

Our theme this year is “Fishin’ For Fun.” It springboards off the Vacation Bible School theme of “Big Sea Adventure.” The Summer Reading Club starts June 1 and runs through July 13. It’s open to guests as well as members.

Here’s how it works. Kids, age 3 up through sixth grade, come into the Library (a.k.a. the Bait Shop) to sign up for the Club. They fill out a registration form, snag a fish from our fishbowl, write their name on it, and stick it to our Bait Shop window. Each Angler also gets a Holding Tank to pin to our wall. Anglers take home an Angler’s Kit that includes a Fishing License with all the instructions; a Catch Log on which to write each book and author, a sample book report form, and a few fun prizes.

Then, Anglers go forth and read. They can read books from our Library, from home, school or any other library. The books must be “eyeball” books, that is, not videos and not audiobooks. Electronic books are fine. Little Anglers can have books read to them. Older Anglers should read books on their reading level. Anglers are to write the title and author of each book they read on the Catch Log. For longer books that older Anglers read, they may record 50 pages rather than a whole book.

Anglers bring their Catch Log, with the books written in, back to the Bait Shop. They receive a Fish Sticker for each entry on the Catch Log. The Fish Stickers go on the Holding Tank. Any Angler who brings a written book report or review to the Bait Shop will receive a jeweled Fish Sticker for the Holding Tank! A sample report is in the Fishing License/sign-up pack, but other forms are acceptable.

When an Angler has put six Fish Stickers in the Holding Tank, he/she will be designated an Expert Angler and receive a Burlap Creel Bag of prizes. When an Expert Angler has stocked the Holding Tank with 12 Fish Stickers, he/ she will receive a Tackle Box and be designated a Master Angler.

Fishing with poles and hooks and baits is fun (so we are told). Fishin’ for fun when books are the catch is even better.

Take the bait! Read every day! Catch a tankful of fish!