The Party May Be Over But The Fun Has Just Started

So you missed our Summer Reading Kickoff Party last week?

That's OK. I mean, it was a lot of fun -- I especially liked the kids who sang "Who Let the Dogs Out?" -- but it's not like the fun stops just because the party ended.

You can still sign up for our summer reading programs at any of our branches. (And I mean "you" in the ustedes sense. It doesn't matter if you're a kid, teen or adult. We have a summer reading program for you -- complete with prizes.)

The library has some cool programs coming up, as well.

Outback Ray and his cadre of exotic animals helped us kick off our Fun Day Monday series earlier this week.

And now Cassady Gammons can tell everyone she has a hat made from chinchilla.

Every Monday this summer we'll have a different fun game, craft or activity on the lawn of the Read House, which is next door to Mentor Public Library's main branch.

We also have our Tiddlywinks Song & Story Time for the youngest of the young'ns every Tuesday and Wednesday morning. (The program is for kids from birth through 36 and they need a caretaker with them. No registration needed.)

Here's a video from one of our Tiddlywinks sessions, if you want a taste.

It's always that adorable, by the way.

We have programs for adults too.

Rick Porrello -- foremost expert on the Cleveland underground and author of "To Kill The Irishman" and "The Rise and Fall of the Cleveland Mafia" -- is giving a free talk on the history of the Cleveland mob on June 25. (You can register here.)

And our Summer Concert Series continues June 26 with a performance by the Hollywood Slim Band over at the Read House.

We launched our concert series earlier this month with a show by the Sunset Country Band. (Yes, we have video of that too.) They specialize in music from the 1930s through 1960s.

So check our event calendar and I bet you'll find something fun to do at the library.

And now -- for no particular reason -- here are some more photos of adorable kids holding, petting and, in a couple of cases, wearing Outback Ray's animals.

And Rhea Sahoo can say she wore a snakeskin necklace.

Ayden Gorecki receives an enormous hug from Spongebob, an albino Burmese python.

Katelyn Zitrick meets Zombie, a hairless guinea pig.

Kevin Xue pets a meter-long blue tegu named Mr. Kipling. (Mr. Kipling, by the way, is a female. However, they didn't figure that out until after they named her.)