Retha N. Jones, author of Secrets Keep You Sick, will visit Dog Ears Bookstore & Café for a book-signing event from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, July 12. The event was originally set to take place in May but needed to be rescheduled.

Secrets Keep You Sick is centered around a young African-American girl growing up in Buffalo from 1980 to 2000.

An African-American native of Buffalo, Jones is a standup comedian, public speaker, mental health professional and more. She holds several degrees and many certifications, all in the mental health, human services and medical fields. She has been nominated for Helium Buffalo funniest comic and was the winner of the Author O’ Eve 2024 Education and Community Award.

Secrets Keep You Sick is centered around a young African-American girl growing up in Buffalo from 1980 to 2000. This is a fictional pose novel based on true life events and stories that she has gained while talking with friends, associates and co-workers. In this novel, the main character attempts to navigate through life under parents (and co-parents) who suffer with mental illness and life’s demons. Secrets Keep You Sick will take you through an emotional roller coaster where you will find yourself engulfed in sexual taboos, blurred racial lines, comedy, heartbreak, vengeance and amazing triumphs. Secrets Keep You Sick will have you screaming at the pages as if you were there. This novel borders on a mystery novel as one can never guess what could possibly happen next. How sick are your secrets keeping you?

Dog Ears Bookstore is located at 688 Abbott Road in South Buffalo.

Dog Ears Bookstore will once again offer free summer programming for local students. The week-long camps are designed to help build reading and writing skills, as well as comprehensive skills that target the needs for each specific grade level. Throughout the camps, participants will learn helpful tips, skills and strategies that will carry across all subject areas and transition into the NYS Common Core Curriculum. However, lessons and activities will be fun, interactive and hands-on and will utilize multiple methods of instruction to meet the varied learning styles.

All sessions will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and are limited to 20 students per camp. Please note “entering grade” for the 2025-26 school year. There are no exceptions as camp lessons are aligned with grade level expectations.

• July 7-11, students entering grades 4-6

• July 14-18, students entering grades 2-3

• July 21-25, students entering grades 4-6

• July 28 – Aug. 1, Camp Kindness for students entering grades 6-8

• Aug. 4-8, students entering grades 2-3

• Aug. 11-15, students entering grades 7-8

• Aug. 18-22, Camp Kindness for students entering grades 6-8

Please note that there are three different types of camps and that each participant can sign up for only one.

Camp Kindness participants will plan and take part in fun service projects in the community and then journal about their experiences. This is also an opportunity for students to meet community service hour requirements.

Camps for the youngest participants are open to children of all reading and writing levels and will consist of morning activities which include — but are not limited to — music, sports, animals, drama, literature, arts, community awareness and other topics. Students should bring their own bagged lunch (or lunches will be available for purchase at Dog Ears Café) each day. After lunch, participants will break into small groups to reflect upon, write about, and share thoughts about their morning experiences and achievements.

The camps for the two older groups will be slightly different. Participants will be introduced to “speed book dating” and literature circles to broaden the scope and exposure to different types of literary genres, styles, influences, authors and cultures. Different forms of writing, along with the processes that go into each one, will also be explored. Youth will participate in Writer’s Workshops that will be based on a book that is chosen by the group. Students should bring their own bagged lunch (or lunches will be available for purchase at Dog Ears Café) each day.

All facilitators that plan and teach all camps are New York State certified. All supplies and portfolios for writing pieces will be provided.

Camps will be held at Dog Ears Bookstore, which is located at 688 Abbott Road, Buffalo, near Mercy Hospital. Sessions will be held upstairs of the bookstore (enter through the front entrance). Adults must be mindful of the drop-off and pick-up times and are welcome to wait for their children at the end of the day in the café, which will be open for food and beverage purchases. All students must be signed in and out of camp each day by an adult.

Sign-ups will begin at 10 a.m. Wednesday, May 28 at Dog Ears Bookstore. No sign-ups will be taken over the phone. Children can register for one camp only.

Pre-registration is required and participants are expected to attend the entire week that they are signed up for. Each registered participant must commit to attending all five days.

The free camps are made possible through funding by Erie County Youth Services and The Office of South District Council Member – Acting Mayor Christopher P. Scanlon. For additional information regarding the camps, please contact Tom McDonnell at tom@enlightenthedog.org.

Evening sessions for students entering grades 9 to 12, to help with required reading and reading skills, will also be offered this summer. Information will be released soon. Please check the Dog Ears Facebook page for updates, or e-mail Tom at Tom@enlightenthedog.org.