Wokingham

Wokingham Library’s Harry Potter Midnight Launch Party may be over but the summer of activities for children and teenagers at the borough’s libraries continues.

Praise from the guests at the launch party, held on Friday July 20 to celebrate the unveiling of the seventh and final Hogwarts instalment Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows has been pouring in, with all of the Wokingham children and parents rating the party as very good or good. Comments received included: ‘fantastic and exciting’, ‘it was very cool’ and ‘great event, very impressed that staff were willing to stay up past midnight’.

But the summer fun is not over and the Wokingham borough’s libraries are all holding events to tempt children and teenagers through their doors. As part of the Big Wild Read summer reading challenge, libraries across the borough are organising events for children and young people and next month these will include a Manga workshop at Wokingham Library. The workshop will be run by professional Manga artists Sonia Leong and Emma Vieceli, who have recently been involved in a project to produce Manga versions of Shakespeare plays. Manga is a style of cartoon drawing that originated in Japan and has become popular in the UK in recent years.

As well as the Manga workshops Wokingham borough’s libraries offer a range of fiction and non-fiction books and magazines for teenagers and Winnersh Library hosts the Winnersh Gaming Club where members can play the popular strategy game Warhammer 40K. The gaming club meets on the first and third Saturdays of each month from 10.30am to 12.30pm and is open to library members aged 11 and over. Sessions cost £1.

Joining Wokingham borough libraries is free and easy and anybody who lives, studies or works in the borough or holds a valid membership for any other Berkshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire or Surrey library can join. To join, residents need to fill in an application form and produce one form of identification showing name and current address - a driving licence or bank statement accompanied by a bank card would be appropriate. Those under 18 will also need a signature from a parent or guardian or any other adult member of the library to join.

Wokingham Borough Council reader development officer for young people and families, Elizabeth McDonald said: “We often have great success attracting young children and their families into the borough’s libraries and that is wonderful, but there is a lot on offer for teenagers as well. Events such as the Manga workshop and regular activities such as the Winnersh Gaming Club offer a fun way for young people to get involved in their local libraries. And, of course, if they take a book out as well then so much the better.”

The Manga Workshops, for children aged 11 and over, will be at Wokingham Library from 10am to 12.30pm and 2pm to 4.30pm on August 16. It is free to go but places must be booked from 0118 978 1368.

Wokingham Borough Council