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Kids enjoy books, pals in Howard program By Vicki Guarino Travis Rister is only 6 years old, but he figures he�s already learned all he has to know about reading. Just stroll into the Howard Elementary School library and get some big kid like fourth-grader Rachel Thompson to read to you. "Read these," Rachel coaxes. "Come on.�� Travis adamantly shakes his head. "Come on, it�s only three words.�� And the last three words of the book at that. ��No, no, no, no, no.�� But just to make sure he gets the credit, Travis pulls Rachel to the computer to help him with the reading comprehension test. Travis says he likes books, so he�s not going to let a minor problem like reading the words get in his way. Nor does he have to stop going to the library just because it�s summer. Not this summer. The Medford boy is among about 30 Howard neighborhood youngsters regularly taking advantage of the school�s new Summer Safari library program. Every Tuesday and Thursday, librarian Jennine Lane unlocks the back door, turns on the lights and sets out the cookies for a free morning of reading. Kids can check out a book or two and run, or stick around for the full two hours, 9:30-11:30. Many seem inclined to stay. With prizes like ice cream, pens, and books (yes, even Harry Potter), library sessions have become social occasions as well as a low-key summer school. "She sees friends here, too, people she doesn�t usually see during the summer,�� says Greg Bryan, who is spending his morning off work at the school library with his daughter Jennifer, a third-grader. It isn�t just a Howard School get-together, however. "We�re reaching out to the whole community," says Lane. "We have home-schoolers coming, kids who are in preschool. This is for the community.�� The program began a week into summer vacation and will continue through Aug. 17. It�s financed by federal Title I funds for educating low-income students; more than half of Howard�s 570 students live in low-income households. The summer library hours are part of Howard�s summer school program. Formal summer classes begin next month. Lane patterned her library program after a weekly summer library program inaugurated last summer at Oak Grove Elementary School in west Medford. Students struggling to keep up with their class have a chance to improve. Students who want more of a challenge can reach for more advanced books. "The idea is to help kids at the low end and the high end,�� says Lane. "This is kind of an experiment. I had no idea what to expect.�� The program has drawn students of all skills, from beginners like Travis to Howard�s reading champ, Donnye Knowles. As a sixth-grader, Donnye amassed more reading points than anyone else, winning more than $100 in gifts and books donated by local businesses. Now ready to move on to seventh grade at McLoughlin, Donnye still sits in a back corner of the Howard library with a book propped in front of her. Adventure stories, Nancy Drew mysteries and Harry Potter tales are among her favorites. "I just stick my head in a book and I get stuck,�� Donnye says. As for her choice to spend hours in school when most kids are vacationing, Donnye says the idle hours of summer have their drawbacks. "I have hardly nothing to do, plus I like reading,�� she says. Howard second-grade teacher Alice Ingraham finds the interest in reading heartwarming. She stopped in to check on her fourth-grade son, Trent, but found herself waylaid by former students. ��It has been really exciting to me to see the kids in the summer coming down the road with their books in their hands.�� Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA