MEXICO — The Mexico Public Library will kick off its 2013 summer reading program at 10 a.m. Tuesday, July 2, with Jim White, also known as “The Snake Man.”

White will let children and their parents view his collection of snakes.

Library Director Valerie Messana said White’s presentation will be held in the Calvin B. Lyons room of the Town Office.

The theme of the summer program is “Where the Wild Things Are.” Special guests will visit the library on Tuesday mornings during July.

“Jim is our first guest this month, and he’ll be bringing in his snakes, giving the kids information about them,” Messana said. “With supervision, the kids will be allowed to hold the snakes or touch them. There’s usually a huge line of kids that want to hold the snake.”

Messana said normally, the children are excited by the snakes and love it when White visits.

“I’ve found that it’s usually the adults that stand towards the back, away from the snakes,” she said.

Other guests will include an animal rescuer, a juggler, and a retired science teacher from Dixfield who will do fun science experiments with the children.

Messana said this year, the library will also do a “superhero party,” with a “superhero visiting the kids and speaking about anti-bullying.”

“The kids will have an opportunity to take their pictures with the superhero after the program,” Messana said. “It’s something new that we’re trying.”

The various events throughout the month of July will run parallel with the library’s reading program, where kids will earn different prizes depending on how much they read. Messana said the library is starting an adult reading program, for readers 15 and older, that will last until Aug. 16.

“For every book that an adult finishes, they will fill out a ticket with their name, phone number, and the title of the book they read,” Messana said. “They pass it in, and each week, we’ll draw a ticket and award a prize to someone.”

For more information, call the library at 364-3281.

mdaigle@sunjournal.com