It’s going to be a 'wild' summer at the Guelph Public Library.
The theme for this year's Children and Teen Summer Reading Club, selected by national sponsor TD Bank, is “wild.”
The reading club is launching today, Saturday June 25 at 11 a.m. at all branch locations, with an extra special event being held at the downtown location.
The Summer Reading Club has been around longer than the library's Program Coordinator Andrea Curtis has worked at the library — which is an impressive 27 years.
Curtis said the library decided to take things further this year and encourage students “to explore the wilds of Guelph.”
The purpose of the club is to encourage students to read over the summer months.
Last year, nearly 1,000 kids participated in the children's club and 160 teens participated in the teen program.
The Summer Reading Club is open to readers aged 2-18.
The children’s club is separated into three different categories. "Pre-readers" are typically ages two to six, and often have a lot of parental supervision and participation in the club. "Readers" are ages six to eight and are typically more independent readers. 'Wild' readers are the ultra-independent nine and ten year olds.
Once readers graduate from the children’s club (entering 7th Grade), they can move on to the teen club. The readers, typically between the ages of eleven to eighteen, participate in this group which is independent from the children’s club.
TD provides the promotional materials for the Children’s Club, as well as the stickers that the students collect for reading books.
Kids can earn ballots for weekly draws and prizes by reading borrowed books, and also earn free books from the library that they get to keep (from the discarded book pile).
“The program can be done in any language,” said Curtis, who said that students who attend French Immersion, or students whose first language is not English, are able to read books in whichever language they choose. Children who are visually impaired can participate as well by listening to audio books. No child is left out of the club — and the library is happy to work with any students in unique situations.
Today is the kick-off for the Summer Reading club and the Downtown Branch will be hosting a special kick-off event that will include a live animal show put on by the Guelph Lake Nature Centre.
Curtis said that there are no plans to start a summer reading club for adults at this time, although there has been expressed interest. She suggested adults get involved in one of the library’s many adult book clubs this summer as an alternative.
Readers can join the clubs at any of the locations.
Do your kids participate in the Summer Reading Club?
