Politics & Government

Book Buddies Brings Teens, Young Readers Together at Canton Public Library

Library runs successful program for fourth year.

Books can open up new worlds to children and an older mentor can often help bring those stories to life. 

The Book Buddies program at the Canton Public Library has done just that and for the fourth year the program paired children and teenagers, who read together, made crafts and sang a few songs once a week for much of the summer. 

This year two sessions were offered and about 27 teens from Canton and other towns volunteered for the program, said Betsy Ash, children's services associate and Book Buddies coordinator. 

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"They're all extremely competent and great with the kids," she said. 

Many of the teens have volunteered for multiple years, some since the program came to Canton, which followed the lead of libraries in Farmington, Cheshire and elsewhere.

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"It's just great to get to interact with the younger kids and get them interested in reading," said Alexis Griswold. 

Larken McCarthy said it's great to spend time with the kids and in some cases watch them grow as they come back for multiple years. 

Her Friend Krithika Gnanaguru agreed. 

"You're part of their nurturing," she said. "It's nice when they recognize and remember you." 

The program is sponsored by Canton Dental Center, which for the second year donated $400. That money pays for the T-shirts worn by the teen volunteers, which they get to keep. Children's Librarian Heather Baker said it makes them easily identifiable and gives them a chance to proudly display their volunteer efforts. 

This year, the library also received $250 from Soroptimist International of Farmington Valley. The funds were the result of Alexis Griswold's receipt of the Violet Richardson Award given for volunteerism. Griswold chose the book buddies as her program to support. That money helped pay for some extras, such as a pizza party for participants on the final day of the program. 

Forty-five children participated this year. Demand was about twice the capacity, which is largely based on the number of volunteers. Baker said teen volunteers from Canton and elsewhere are welcome to keep the program in mind if looking for volunteer opportunities next summer. 


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