Georgina library offering top prizes for most books read

TD Summer Reading Club kicks off at Georgina Public Library

Yorkregion.com
July 2, 2019
Amanda Persico

Spend the summer months sittin’ on the dock of the bay, readin’ the stories away.

The TD Summer Reading Club is back at the Georgina Public Library and this year’s prizes are even bigger.

The program is designed to keep students reading during the summer months.

“We all hear about summer brain drain,” said Joel Sutherland, children and youth services librarian at the Georgina Public Library.

Unlike reading a prescribed book list for school, students are encouraged to read anything and everything.

“Read at the cottage or at home,” Sutherland said. “Listen to an audiobook while on a road trip. Read the classics or read comics. Just read.”

This year’s prizes range from stickers and bookmarks to free kids meals, a free book or free swim/skate passes from the town.

In part to attract more youth participation, there is also a variety of experience prizes, including paintball, Legoland and ROC passes.

Kids who reach the highest level will also be invited to the annual Summer Reading Club party, an exclusive after-hours gig at the library featuring even more prizes to be won.

There’s also a Summer Reading Club trophy, where the school with the highest percentage of readers who reached the highest reading level get to take home the trophy and house it in the school for a year.

“It’s become like a sporting event,” Sutherland said.

The travelling trophy has helped boost summer reading programs, where more than 1,800 students signed up in 2018 and more than 600 students reached the top reading level, he added.

With the influx of vacationers coming up from the city to enjoy the Georgina’s sandy shores, the summer reading program is free and open to anyone.

The library is also hosting an adult summer reading program with weekly prizes.

TD Summer Reading Club Steps:

• Register at any Georgina Public Library branch;

• Read five books or read for five hours. Track what you read and how long you read;

• When you complete a level, tell an adult about what you’ve read. Talk about your favourite part or character. Have the adult sign your reading journal; and

• Collect prizes for every level achieved during the summer months.

For more information visit georginalibrary.ca