Baldwin County libraries are getting ready for the 2007 Summer Reading Program. The program runs through the month of June, but some libraries are extending some activities into July.

This year’s theme is “Get a Clue,” and each library has interpreted the them in their own way. The Pink Panther and Scooby Doo will join Nancy Drew and Sherlock Holmes as lead characters at some libraries, while others will focus on other mysteries.

The annual Summer Reading Program has come a long way from the days when children simply signed up and then read books, kept a log and maybe got a certificate for the number of books read.

Each library decorates, chooses books, movies, programs and crafts according to their own idea of how to carry out the theme.

At the Foley Public Library, Kellie Wansley, children’s librarian, said the younger children will answer the question “who is …?” each week.

From a rooster who does not know how to cock-a-doodle-do to an extinct dinosaur who doesn’t know she’s extinct to a sheep that is scared of the dark, the children will learn about all these characters as they read a book a week for four weeks.

At the Daphne Public Library, young detectives will be encouraged to read mysteries, myths and legends. Toddlers, those 18 months to three years, will hear such stories as “Olivia and the Missing Toy” and “Who Stole the Cookies?”

Teens at the Orange Beach Library will have the opportunity to go treasure hunting with a GPS receiver, as well as play a role in a mystery theater.

The Bay Minette Library will present Skip Cain, “the magic guy,” who will illustrate the importance of reading through a comedic, interactive presentation.

Several of the libraries have scheduled Bob Parson with his “walk About Puppets,” string puppets and David LeBoeuf, a magician and Timothy Weeks, author of “the Wise Mullet of Cook Bayou” and “Ol’ Middler Saves the Day,” books about what happens in the ocean during a hurricane. The author will also demonstrate how to throw a cast net and give demonstrations on how his books are written and illustrated.

Cynthia Nall, librarian at the Robertsdale Public Library said, “We’re going to do a balloon launch this year. Each child will have a helium balloon with a tag asking the person who finds the balloon to send it back. One year, we had a card sent back from south Florida,” she said. The children will gather June 6 at the PZK Civic Center to release the balloons.

“It’s a mystery because we don’t know where those balloons might end up,” she said.

Nall said her library has gotten about 400 new books just in time for the summer reading program. “We want to encourage the kids to read and to help them understand that reading is fun and just because school is out, they shouldn’t stop reading,” she said. She is also working on a family reading event during the month.

Nall said she expects from 150 to 200 children to participate at the Robertsdale Library, with the largest number in the five to seven age group.

Wansley said each year 250 to 300 children participate in the summer reading program and she begins to plan for it in November.

Each library has something special to offer children from infants to teens and anyone interested may stop by the library or call for more information.