Hooked on Books

Tristan Chamness, 5, reads the book "Splat the Cat" after attending a performance by clown Jamie Coventry at the Rincon Valley Library in Santa Rosa. (BETH SCHLANKER/ The Press Democrat)

It’s rug-room-only inside the community room at Santa Rosa’s Rincon Valley Library, where the giggles of 130 kids and their parents indicate something is happening live, in real time.

They’re watching, rapt, as “clown” Jamie Coventry, in street clothes, juggles plates, makes instruments out of recycled objects and stuffs an entire harmonica into his mouth.

But when it’s all over 45 minutes later something even more extraordinary happens. Dozens of kids pour into the stacks, gathering up armloads of books.

Clown Jamie Coventry spins a plate held by Lindsey Tyler, 5, as he performs for a group of children and adults.

“I don’t know if the clown has anything to do with reading. But it gets us here, gets us involved and the kids see the books. They’re excited. They want to pick things out,” said Kelli Dawson, who regularly brings sons Logan, 7 and Trenton, 4, to the library during the summer for entertainment and activities that are a long way from the hushed atmosphere of the past.

Crafts, puppet shows, magicians and a musical story-telling trombonist are among the lures that entice kids to the library — and hopefully get them hooked on books.

Discover what books are popular for young readers.

Some 5,000 kids are participating in “Dream Big,” the Sonoma County Library’s Summer Reading Program, a longtime tradition that gives incentives and rewards for coming to the library.

At the same time, local bookstores like Copperfield’s and Sonoma’s Readers’ Books also are offering games to stir up bookish excitement.