Palmerton Area Library’s summer reading series went out with a bang on Friday, celebrating a fun course of reading, rocking and fun with friends.

The six-week program, developed for children from kindergarten to first grade and second through sixth grade, worked in plenty of opportunities to explore the world of reading and other activities.

“This is a little different from some other libraries where they do a lot more with keeping track of the kids’ reading hours,” library Director Diane Danielson said.

“We try to make it fun. We want to make them feel that the library is a fun, welcoming place to be. Reading is really good, but we want to show them all the other ways they can learn. Since the theme this year was ‘Libraries Rock,’ we did a lot of music, dance and sounds. We had the Lehigh Valley Zoo here to talk about animal sounds. It’s been a whole variety of things that the kids have been doing this summer.”

Upstairs, kids in the second- through sixth-grade group finished up their giant posters and got their groove on with some fun dancing games.

“We’re going to be playing a lot of games,” Danielson said. “I have all these cool prizes to give away, too. We’re going to be doing the newspaper dance, the tissue dance, memory games and things like that. Both groups, before they leave today, will get a book and a book bag to take home.”

During the newspaper dance, the kids had to bust a move on an area the size of a broadsheet. As long as the tunes were playing, dancers had to keep moving their arms and legs. When Danielson paused the stereo, the kids folded their sheets in half and work with the smaller spaces. Toward the end, some had to use special strategies to say afoot.

“I liked the newspaper dance. It was tough when we had to close it up and stay on it. I took my shoes off,” Willow Brown, 6, said.

For the tissue dance, participants had to balance a tissue on their heads while keeping pace with the music.

Downstairs, the younger kids took in a special story time with retired second-grade teacher Bette Stout and her cast of puppets, including parrot Roy Biv Green, who helped her read Ged Adamson’s “Ava and the Rainbow (Who Stayed).”

“It gets them all excited, and it encourages them to read,” Stout said. “Listening to stories is a great encouragement to have them read on their own.”

During a second story, Stout and the library staff helped the kids face fears of the dark and other mysteries by showing them that not everything is as scary as they think.

“I liked when the lights went off and we heard the noises. I learned about bugs,” Bentley Thomsic, 5, said.

Lisa Anthony, owner of Watch Me Grow Daycare in Palmerton, said that the library’s summer reading series offered the kids a unique and entertaining experience that they looked forward to each day.

“I think they’re terrific. I think it helps the kids get excited about reading, and finding out about other things at the library,” she said. “They have different kids to engage with, and they get to share their experiences. They’re very excited about it.”

Rounding out the morning, library substitute and early education music teacher Rachel DeMicco led the kids in a singalong, encouraging interaction, learning and fun.

“The music is really engaging for them,” De­Micco said. “We do a lot of participation, actively involving them in what we’re going to sing next. It activates the body and the mind, so it’s perfect for little ones. It’s OK to be wiggly, it’s OK to be loud, and it’s OK to try new things when you’re doing the singalong, so it’s perfect for this age group.”