Summer Program Encourages Kids to Read

To celebrate the start of summer, the has kicked off its Teen Reading Challenge, an annual program in its ninth year.

The Teen Reading Challenge, the library’s main program, is for rising sixth through twelfth graders. This year, the suggested theme is crossing cultures. Participants are encouraged to read books about different parts of the world that they may visited or have an interest in, though their options are pretty much open.

“Of course, read what you like,” Margaret Brown, the young adult librarian said.

To participate students must read a book and fill out a form with their name, phone number, number of pages, and a brief summary of the book they have completed. The student then gets a ticket for every 50 pages they’ve read. The tickets are then placed in different boxes for various prizes.

The drawings will occur twice during the summer, on July 18th and August 8th. Available prizes this year include Edmond Town Hall movie passes and gift certificates from Franco’s Pizza, Dunkin Donuts, Barnes and Noble and others.

“The kids really like that they are able to pick which prizes they can enter their name into,” Brown said.  “They can put so many in the Barnes and Noble box or they could put all their entries into the Edmond Town Hall drawing.”

There is, however, one prize they will not be able to enter more then once. All participants get one entry into a drawing for a Kindle Wi-Fi, a prize the library is able to offer because of a generous benefactor.

Running in conjunction with the library’s challenge, Newtown High School senior Kelsey McEvoy introduced the Read to Feed Program to benefit the Heifer foundation, which gives animals to third world countries. This Read to Feed program runs nationally but McEvoy wanted to implement it in Newtown.

“In my middle school in Ohio we had the same program and when I moved to Newtown I couldn’t find a similar one so I found another outlet for it,” says McEvoy.

Unlike the library’s program, McEvoy encourages kids to find sponsors that will donate money to the association for each book they read this summer.  Students are allowed to use books for both programs and are encouraged to participate in both. Students wishing to participate in the program can find the forms in the young adult section of the library.

At the program's official kickoff on June 27, young adults and teens were treated to smoothies and a performance by an African storyteller, Eschu Lawrence Bumpus and percussionist Ricardo Frota.

A crowd of 33 eager students gathered to enjoy the entertainment and hear about the programs the library would be offering this summer.