As the children's librarian at Pottsville Free Public Library read aloud a story about "Clifford the Big Red Dog" on Monday morning, Emily Lorence, 3, of Cumbola, followed every syllable as if the story were playing out in front of her.
As the giant dog found himself trapped atop a rising drawbridge, Darren DeArment, library head of youth services, asked, "What do you think is going to happen?"
"Splash!" Lorence said with a giggle.
Her mother, Paula, said that's why she will make sure there are books for Lorence under the Christmas tree.
While it may not be popular with every child or young adult, local readers said this week that the gift-giving season is a great time to promote reading.
"I think it's still popular for parents to give their children books for Christmas. Generally, books given are part of a series, like those written by author Jenny B. Jones or the 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' series, seem to be the most popular," Neil Jones, principal at North Schuylkill Elementary, Fountain Springs, said Monday.
Since top-selling fantasy books, from "The Lord of the Rings" to "Harry Potter" and "Hunger Games," have inspired major motion pictures, pop culture indirectly inspires young people to read, Jones said.
"In order to get kids to read, you have to have books which interest them. And it's good to expose them to a variety of genres. It can get kids interested in fiction and nonfiction as well," Jones said.
"I already bought my children books for Christmas. I have two school-age children. I get them books all the time," Crystal McGeary, Schuylkill Haven, said
She has a daughter, Saoirse, 11, and a son, Ciaran, 8.
"Books help to expand their imagination and educate them. Books can teach them a bunch of things," McGeary said.
"Some of my best Christmas presents were books. I got my first copy of 'The Hobbit' for Christmas. Dad got it for me when I was six. I was a little young for it, but he read it to me. And that's what really got me into books and reading," DeArment said.
Tiffany Reedy, principal at Pottsville Area High School, likes that students read, but what they read could be better.
"Some of our students like to read, but I would think for most it would be a more popular series, like 'Hunger Games,' not a classic like 'Pride and Prejudice' or 'Wuthering Heights,' unfortunately," she said.
John Zachar, owner of the St. Clair Book Nook at 101 N Second St., Saint Clair, said children's books are popular items at his store this time of year.
"I don't know if children are asking their parents for books for Christmas. I think it's usually parents and grandparents buying them for the kids," Zachar said Tuesday.
He said his son, Jacob, 11, a sixth-grade student at Saint Clair Area Elementary Middle School, has two books on his Christmas list.
"Specific ones. He comes here after school and when he doesn't have homework, he'll just pick out a book and start reading. And he picked up the first book in the 'Hunger Games' trilogy. He started reading that, then he asked me for the other two for Christmas," Zachar said.
"Usually books are, like, a forced thing by parents. I think usually children ask for clothes, phones and game systems," Karlie Janowski, 17, a senior at Pottsville Area High School, said Tuesday.
Traditional values, like picking up a book, don't always inspire children growing up in modern times, Jeffrey Godin, assistant principal at Pottsville Area High School, said.
"I think we live in a more visually-stimulated generation. I don't think books satisfy their everyday needs for flash," Godin said.
Godin didn't think students typically asked for books for Christmas. However, he thought some students may ask their parents for e-readers, like the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite, which cnet.com recently dubbed the "best overall e-reader."
"E-readers are very popular. Many of my students have them. I personally still prefer books. Based on the volume of sales the school did on our book fair in September, print books are alive and well," Doug Demsko, librarian at North Schuylkill Elementary, said Tuesday.
"I don't think the concept of literature is lost. But I think the idea of a paperback book may not carry the same weight as it did years ago," Godin said.
Janowski said she has two books on her Christmas list: "Killing Jesus" and "Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot," both by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard.
And she wants the hardcover editions.
"They're easier to keep and they're easier to read as well. I have a Kindle, but I'm not a big fan of it," Janowski said.