The summer reading program at Bollinger County Library kicked off June 5 with a lot of excited young ones.

With help from a University of Missouri Extension grant, the reading program features two fun tracts: Kids in the Kitchen and Kids in the Garden.

"We started with showing what a garden is all about and asked the children to think outside the box," library director Eva Dunn said. Dunn had cut off milk jugs, cardboard boxes and even lunch bags to use as containers in which to plant seeds.

In addition, Sunset Floral & Garden Market in Marble Hill "helped us out with some veggie plants that were already nice sized. Lots of dirt and planting later, and the day was a success," Dunn said.

The reading program meets at 10:30 a.m. every Wednesday until the end of July. The theme of Kids in the Kitchen and Kids in the Garden will continue throughout the two-month program.

Readers can also participate in the reading challenge. Youngsters each receive a small prize for every 10 books they read. And if they have read the most books at the end of the summer in their age group, they get a grand prize.

The summer reading program will end Wednesday, July 31, with a picnic at Whippoorwill Lake.

For more information, call the library at (573) 238-2713 or check out its Facebook page.