My daughters don't need much incentive to go to the library. They have been regulars since I started bringing them as toddlers.
But it never hurts to add a little something extra -- and that's what the summer reading program offers.
This year more than 43,000 children and teens participated in the Tulsa City-County Library's summer reading program, which ran May 20-Aug. 3. Participants read almost a half million books in just 11 weeks.
The beauty of the program is that children to get read any book they want, and with a few visits to the library, they can earn prizes and rewards. It's a win-win: parents don't have to work as hard to get their children to read, and kids receive fun items, such as a medal and coupons for sports events, museums and food. Tweens and teens get their own version of the program.
Now the library is looking for feedback to help evaluate the program. Go to
tulsaworld.com/summerreadingsurvey and weigh in on what your kids liked -- or didn't like.
The Summer Reading Program culminates this weekend with a visit from two-time Newbery Honor Book-winning author Jim Murphy, who is receiving the 2013 Anne V. Zarrow Award for Young Readers’ Literature.
Murphy will receive the award at 7 p.m. Friday at Gilcrease Museum. He will also present awards to the winners of the Young People’s Creative Writing Contest at 10 a.m. Saturday in Connor’s Cove at Hardesty Regional Library. Murphy will be signing books at both events, which are free and open to the public.
Murphy is known for his nonfiction books for children and young adults, including “The Giant and How He Humbugged America,” “Blizzard! The Storm That Changed America,” and “The Long Road to Gettysburg.”
Reading is crucial to academic success, so anything we can do to keep kids cracking open books during the summer months is worth looking into. The Tulsa City County Library makes it easy with such a well-organized program. And what child doesn't want to earn that cookie coupon from Merritt's Bakery?
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