An Ontario library has given one of the top pop songs a musical makeover. Despite being released five years ago, Chappell Roan’s ‘Pink Pony Club’ has taken over the charts. That inspired the Waterloo Public Library to re-work the lyrics to help promote its Summer Reading Club. “With the success of Pink Pony Club, I thought, ‘What better song to morph into a library anthem?’” explained Grace Carruthers, a library programmer, who used her musical talents to sing the song and star in the accompanying music video. The remix has lyrics like, “There’s a special place with books and fun that’s bound to put a smile on your face.” The cover for their Summer Reading Club has gotten a lot of attention online. “The word similarities was just a beautiful coincidence,” Carruthers said. “She has this one dance move that she does where she reaches up and out. I thought, ‘You’re just shelving books,’” she added, chuckling. While the song sure to draw people in, the parody also has another purpose. “Summer Reading Club was initiated to help mitigate the ‘summer slide,’” explained Cathleen Getchell, the programs and partnerships supervisor at the library. “Evidence is showing that over those two months when kids are off from school, there can be some regression in their learning.” Their target audience is children between the ages of four and 12. The more they read, increases their odds of winning bi-weekly prizes, as well as a grand prize at the end of the summer. “Our hope is that children will just gain a love of literacy, a love of reading that they’ll really want to engage with the stories, that they’ll find themselves in new adventures,” Getchell said. And whether it’s ‘Pink Pony Club’ or Summer Reading Club, this adventure is all about meeting kids where they’re at. “I chose a song that I knew kids would know, but maybe they would have to be listening to a censored version,” said Carruthers. “I thought, ‘Why not give them a version that’s just for them?’” To learn more about Summer Reading Club, and how to register, you can visit the Waterloo Public Library’s website.
