MARION — The sound of laughter, screaming and a little bit of crying could be heard outside the Marion Music Hall as two dinosaurs lumbered toward a group of children on Saturday, June 24.

Luckily for the kids in attendance, the dinosaurs Bruce and Blue weren’t hungry. Instead, they just wanted to pose for photos and roar “hello.”

Watson Terzi, 2, wasn’t afraid and roared right back to the dinosaurs, and gave both of them a kiss.

This dinosaur sighting was a part of a summer reading kick-off event hosted by the Elizabeth Taber Library, said Library Director Elizabeth Sherry.

The event also featured free ice cream from the Oxford Creamery, a life size inflatable whale and crafts for kids.

“We like to encourage kids to keep reading throughout the summer to prevent things like the summer slide and things like that,” she said. “We have a lot of activities to encourage [continued] reading.”

The “summer slide” explained Sherry, is when children lose some academic progress while they’re out of the classroom during the summer.

Activities at the Elizabeth Taber Library include summer reading packs for kids and adults as well as programming events to promote summer reading.

“Summer reading programs pretty much happen at all libraries,” she said. “They encourage kids to keep reading, keep learning and keep their minds active during the summer.”

For more information about the Elizabeth Taber Library’s summer reading programs, visit www.elizabethtaberlibrary.org.