Summer reading program begins
By ANDREA JOHNSON, Staff Writer, ajohnson@minotdailynews.com
POSTED: May 30, 2008
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His parents made the mistake of giving him a microphone when he was a kid, Williams told youngsters during the Minot Public Library’s summer reading program kickoff.
“A microphone is the coolest toy in the world,” said Williams, making whooshing and buzzing noises and then showing how they’re amplified by the microphone. “It’s amplified sound.”
Kids burst into gales of laughter as Williams made various sounds: a bug – a Volkswagen bug, that is – or a mosquito. He can sound like a bird chirping or an annoying yap dog barking early in the morning or a squeaky door.
“I am living proof that you can make a living out of anything,” said Williams. That joke made more of the adults in the audience laugh than the kids.
Williams is actually a comedian, storyteller, and author from the Seattle area, though he grew up in the South. He’s given his presentation at Minot before. He’ll be in Bismarck today at the kickoff of the Bismarck Public Library’s summer reading program.
Williams told kids that a good imagination can turn anything into a toy. To illustrate, he showed them how a tennis racket could become anything from a frying pan to a computer mouse. Parents can make sounds they’re good at to turn a story into something special.
Williams’ tour de force was a reading of a book called “Flush: An Ode to Toilets,” complete with imitations of different flushing sounds.
Then he taught the kids how to make noises like an unexpected creature he’s scared of.
“To me the scariest creature on earth is ... a squirrel,” said Williams.
Squirrels are scary because of what they might do if they wiggled inside his shirt, Williams explained.
The kids all giggled again.
The theme of this year’s summer reading program is “Catch the Reading Bug.” Activities are planned all summer long. Parents can sign their kids up for the program at the children’s library throughout the summer.
