AGAWAM – Kids are often asked how they spent their summer, but the Agawam Public Library is asking children and teens how they are spending their quarantine.

Quarantine Stories is an ongoing project in which children up to age 17 can answer an online questionnaire and upload an optional photo or drawing.

The results are being collected into a book that will be available for reading in the library or as a PDF online.

“It will be a snapshot of what life is like for us during the coronavirus. This book will show the resilience and strength of our community, and we will be able to relate to and take comfort in each other’s stories,” said children’s librarian Pamela Weingart in a press release.

Weingart explained that it is a chance for young people to talk about their feelings anonymously.

“The goal is to show that we all have some great happy times during the pandemic, but we all have some down times, too,” Weingart told Reminder Publishing.          

There are two questionnaires, on the library’s website, one for adults and one for kids up to age 17.

The form for youth include questions about the biggest change since the pandemic, how they like to spend their day and what they want to do when it is over.

So far, Weingart has received 10 responses and praised the quality and though put into the answers.

One 16-year-old from Agawam said that the biggest change in their life is going from being shy before the pandemic to being talkative and more expressive. A 14-year-old Agawam resident shared that they have been writing a quarantine journal back and forth with their mother, even though they live in the same house. The teen said it can be easier to put their thoughts and feelings on paper than say them aloud.

Responses can be from any town and any age up to 17. People can also fill out the questionnaire more than once if they come up with more ideas.

 The questionnaire for adults is found at www.agawamlibrary.org/events-activities/quarantine-stories. The kids and teens questionnaire is at www.agawamlibrary.org/teens/digital-archive-for-kids-up-to-age-17. For more information, call 789-1550 ext. 3.