SOUTH POINT — The seven children gathered in the South Point Briggs Library on Wednesday had a few things in common: a home-school education, blooming artistic skills and a passion for reading.

For the annual “Share-a-book-bration,” local home-schooled students brought their favorite books and their artistic representations of the stories to the library to share with their peers. Each student presented a brief oral presentation of their book and proudly displayed their works of art.

It was 6-year-old Noah Swann’s first time participating in the event, but you would not have been able to tell. When asked for volunteers to present, his hand shot up just as quickly as the words left Librarian Assistant Susan Spears’ mouth.

“The book I read was called ‘The Magic Tree House, Book 13: Vacation Under the Volcano,’ by Mary Pope Osborne,” kindergartener Noah said without a written speech to guide him. “In the Magic Tree House books the kids look for stories and books to put in the Camelot Library.”

And with a little help from mom, Sara Swann, Noah made it through his first oral book report, which he said wasn’t so scary.

Noah loves to read, especially ‘The Magic Tree House’ series. Reading became a hobby during his preschool days when his mom took him to story time at Briggs Library. And all that reading is educating and developing Noah to help him become what he wants to be when he grows up: Batman.

The fun and excitement Noah associates with the library, reading and books is exactly the reason Spears heads the Share-a-book-bration each year.

“We want to give the kids a fun and educational time at the library,” she said. “Plus it is an opportunity to get with old friends and make new ones.”

Like Noah, second-grader Hunter Roy has a book series he turns to time after time.

“I read a lot of the ‘Nate the Great’ books because they’re funny,” Hunter said, displaying his featured book for his presentation, ‘Nate the Great Talks Turkey.’ “I really like the detective kinds of books.”

Hunter and his sixth-grade sister, Hannah, are part of the Hope Home-school Group, as are most of the other Share-a-book-bration attendees. As part of the Roys’ curricula, their mother, Mary Beth Roy, requires five minutes of reading per grade level each day, all leading up to the presentation day at the library.

“It allows them to be able to present information about their book,” Roy said about the annual book-report event. “It gives them a chance to stand up in front of others and get experience in public presentation.”

After all the students had shared their reading experiences and presented their art projects, Spears hand-delivered a completion certificate to each participant, and the children were dismissed into the library to select their next book.