Cartoonist draws ‘silly-looking stuff’ at Amana library

MIDDLE AMANA — Though the Iowa County Board of Supervisors has spent months scrambling to find a legal way to give $7,300 to Amana’s community library, the library hasn’t felt the stress.

Library Director Heather Fox signed up readers and lined up programs for Read, Renew, Repeat, this year’s summer reading theme.

Cartoonist Buck Jones visited the library Wednesday to help children “unleash their creativity.”

Jones, from Urbandale, has been to the Amana library before, teaching children little tricks for drawing cartoons.

Jones is a freelance cartoonist. His creations can be seen in books, greeting cards and advertisements, he said. He’s given programs at libraries as far south and west as Mt. Ayr.

“My style is very light-hearted,” said Jones. He told his audience that if they were looking for well-done superhero drawings, they’d be disappointed. He draws “this kind of silly-looking stuff,” he said, pointing to a cross-eyed frog, a startled rabbit, a goofy bee and a wide-eyed fish.

“He does an amazing job,” said Fox. “And I love bringing creative things in.”

“We all have our strengths,” said Jones. “This came easy to me.”

He tells children that drawing may not come easy to them, but he encourages them to draw with him.

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“I do a little talking, and I try to get them to do a little drawing while they’re here.”

The summer reading programs at Amana library continue through July after taking a week off for Independence Day.

Barnyard Discoveries Petting Zoo will visit the library Thursday, July 11 from 5-7 p.m. This is the first year Fox has booked Barnyard Discoveries. Unlike most summer reading programs, this one is scheduled for after-work hours.

“I thought more families might be able to attend,” said Fox.

The Iowa Raptor Project from Iowa City will be at the library Wednesday, July 17 at 10 a.m., and Mary Blair, a naturalist with Iowa County Conservation, will visit the Amana library Tuesday, July 23.

At 10 a.m. Monday, July 29, East Central Iowa Council of Governments will present a program about garbage.

Fox doesn’t ask children to read a certain number of pages or a certain number of books during the summer reading program. “All I expect is for them to read,” she said.

Children sign up by scanning a QR code and receive a free T-shirt. Each week when they come in, the young readers can pick out “a little reading buddy,” a small toy animal.

Hills Bank is sponsoring the summer reading program this year, and Amana Community Chest provides funding for the special programs.

In addition to the summer reading program, the Amana library provides information about the Barnes & Noble Escape Into Summer Reading program. Children read any eight books and record them in a summer reading journal, a single page on which they write the books’ titles, authors’ names and which parts of the books were their favorite.

Children take their completed journals to a Barnes & Noble story between July 1 and Aug. 31 and choose a book from a list on the back of the journal page.

The Barnes & Noble program is open to children in grades 1-6.

“Anything that promotes reading, I’m always for it,” said Fox.

The library receives funding from several sources, including the Clear Creek Amana Community School District, which houses the library, Iowa County, fundraisers and book sales and fees. The library uses the money for books, computers, supplies, furniture and other items necessary to a library.

The Amana Community Library is open the following hours in July: Monday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.; Tuesday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; Wednesday, 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m.; Thursday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; Friday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; and Saturday 9 a.m. to noon.