A summer of reading

For a children’s librarian, summer reading is big stuff. The program is one of our biggest and we spend a good deal of the year planning fun programs, brainstorming our theme and ordering prizes. We are so excited that the fun is about to begin for some of our littlest readers and their families, maybe for the first time, in just a few weeks.

Summer reading was also a big deal for me as a child. I remember proudly writing down the titles of the books I read at home; back then little readers had to read so many books rather than so many minutes per day. I would have to ask my mom to sign off on my recordings, acknowledging that, yes, I had read all the Beverly Cleary books I checked out the week before. I remember fondly receiving the sought after prize after so many days of reading from the librarian at my neighborhood library; all the while working towards that all important completion certificate. The certificate, even though just a piece of paper, was something that I could impress my new teacher with that fall when school began. Not only would it let her know that I would be a good reading student but it would also mean that my new class was one student closer to getting that pizza party that the school sponsored for classes with high summer reading participation! Not a bad deal for a summer of reading, right?

Today summer reading is basically the same, except for just a few millennial changes: readers can now sign up and log their summer reading time online (we do have calendars for people who prefer to keep their time by hand) and like I said earlier, we encourage participants to read for 20 minutes a day rather than a certain number of books. But the fun is still the same – exciting programs, fun prizes, a certificate to work towards and lots of new books to discover! Registration is going on now for this year’s FWPL summer reading program at www.fortworthpubliclibrary.org or at your nearest branch! Unfortunately I can not promise that your school offers a pizza party, but it never hurts to ask!