Island youngsters fired up their imaginations during a summer of reading and creative activities at Douglas City Library.

Children aged between four and eleven participated in the ‘Marvellous Makers’ summer reading challenge over six weeks, where they explored new books and stories and participated in a range of arts and crafts workshops.

The initiative challenged the youngsters to read six books of their choice during the school holidays and collect incentives at the library.

Organisers of the scheme say that the initiative was designed to celebrated the creativity and storytelling abilities of young people who received medals and certificates for their endeavours.

Mayor, Councillor Natalie Byron-Teare, officially presented prizes to the winners of a special summer holiday quiz, a ‘hunt the character’ treasure hunt and those who wrote book reviews.

City Librarian Jan Macartney said: ‘Once again, it was wonderful to see so many primary school children engaged throughout the holidays.

‘The staff and myself really enjoyed meeting the children and their families and hearing about their positive experiences and enjoyment of the Summer Reading Challenge.

‘Douglas City Library is about more than just reading and so many young people fostered their creative thinking skills in a variety of ways, while the craft table in the children’s area was particularly popular.

‘But, of course, passing on the wonders of books to children is invaluable and this scheme during the summer holidays, when reading levels can dip, encourages children to read for pleasure and helps them return to school ready to learn.’

Douglas City Library was founded on November 29, 1886 when it was situated next to the Town Hallin on the capital’s Ridgeway Street.

In 2003 it was relocated to Victoria Street and in 2016 to Duke Street.

To find out more about the library and its services, visit douglaslibrary.im.