The Rolling Reader is one of many outreach services the Library provides to Harford County residents. The Rolling Reader promotes reading for pleasure, visiting after school programs that target at-risk children in grades K through 8. Contact Susan Deeney, 410-612-1600 for additional information.

      
Each month the Rolling Reader visits 20 afterschool centers. We offer crafts inside each center to engage the kids in library programs. This school year topics included the Chesapeake Bay, paper chromatography and fingerprinting. The kids also had an opportunity to create Holiday cards, pet themed bookmarks, grasshopper magnets and “Reading is fun!” snakes.
On board the van the children have a chance to browse for books and take home some fun activity sheets. We have a jar filled with candy each month and the kids must “Guess the number” in the jar to win a prize.

  
In February, 2008 we used an idea borrowed from Project LEAP. The kids pressed their thumb into an inkpad, which in turn was pressed onto a balloon. When the balloon is inflated it is very easy to study the thumbprint. We helped the children identify which type of thumbprint they had-- whorl, loop or arch. Then they added their type, by means of a sticker, to a data chart. This activity drew enthusiastic crowds!