Their smiling faces were painted with balloons, and brightly colored orbs floated in the air over their heads as they tossed miniature basketballs into kid-sized hoops.

The children’s room at the Briggs-Lawrence County Public Library's Main Branch in Ironton was anything but quiet as kids and their parents piled in to help celebrate the summer reading program kickoff.

All library branches throughout the county offered special activities to promote the idea of keeping kids mentally active even though they’re taking a break from school.

"Studies show that if they don’t read during the summer, their test scores are lower when they do go back to school and they have a harder time adapting to the school work," children’s librarian Cheryl Blankenship said. "Their brains get lazy."

This year’s theme is "Your Library, The Greatest Show On Earth." It has a distinctly circus feel to it, and the children’s room was aptly decorated with circus animals and clowns.

Five-year-old Joshua Pierce tried his hand -- or, rather his head -- at the stand-up clown cutout. His mom, Billie Pierce, brought Joshua and his 6-year-old brother, Jacob, "because it gives kids something to do for the summer."

Jacob liked "getting balloons and stuff." So did Joshua.

Nearby, 4-year-old Austin Harper practiced his bean bag tossing skills as his 9-year-old brother Anthony collected a balloon.

Later, both boys got their picture taken with Sniffles the Clown.

The summer reading program runs through July 31 and each library branch offers a story hour each week for younger kids and crafts and other activities for older ones. Teresa Moore/The Ironton Tribune