A pair of young Red Deerians are taking their love of reading to the streets this summer.
Amelia and Rowan Work, with the encouragement of their dad Brian, have started a summer outdoor library outside West Park Elementary School.
Rowan, 14, said the duo got the idea from their dad, who teaches at West Park. They also wanted to find a way to share their love of reading with the community.
“My dad is a teacher at West Park Elementary and the library at the school is closed (during the summer) so kids can’t get books at the school anymore. He just thought we could get books to the kids,” Rowan said.
“We all really like reading, we just decided to open up a pop-up library and do some book drives.”
Liking reading is simply something they’ve always had a passion for in the Work family.
“We grew up with reading. So I always just enjoyed reading. We didn’t really have anything else to do. So that’s just what I did all day,” Rowan said.
Rowan, along with Amelia will be at the school every Saturday throughout the summer, from 10 a.m. to noon.
They will let people take a book out for free, for however long they need, with the hopes that people will return for another book down the line.
Rowan said they’ve got a wide variety of genres and believes they have something for everyone in the collection.
“I’m a fan of mystery and fantasy books,” Rowan said.
They’ve held one pop-up summer library so far, with another set for this Saturday.
“It was good, we had a couple of people,” they added.
The two are self-professed lifelong readers, with Rowan noting that they’re often drawn to the characters and their experiences.
“I really enjoy reading stories and hearing other people’s perspectives, even if they’re just fictional characters, it’s really interesting,” Rowan said.
The Red Deer Public Library is also going to the people this summer, as they have a “book bike” which travels to different locations in the city.
From July 7 to Aug. 13, the Summer Reading Club will be at Capstone Splash Park, Mackenzie Trails, Kin Canyon, Rotary Park and Bower Ponds with its book bike. They will be in those parks on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, weather permitting.
Red Deer Public Library locations in the city opened for in-person service on June 14, when the province entered Stage 2 of its COVID-19 reopening plan.
Send your news tips
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter