Library District holds reading program

Advertisement

The Las Vegas-Clark County Library District will be holding its annual Summer Reading Program, Book Your Magical Journey, through July 31.

The program, started in 1968, encourages children and teens to read for fun, but the library district also offers incentives to keep young minds sharp over the summer.

The children's program starts at any age, essentially "age zero," said Mary Nelson Brown, youth services coordinator, and continues for children who just completed the fourth grade and will be entering the fifth grade in the fall. Children who just completed fifth grade can choose whether they want to take part in the children's or teen's program.

The teen's program is for students who have recently completed sixth grade to those who are in seniors in high school.

"The program is geared for all ages," Brown said. "There is a Read to Me segment where children who cannot yet read are read to, and their parent or guardian can include that in their log."

The students participating in the children's program document the amount they have read in a reading log, available at all libraries in the district. They can do this by logging how many pages, how many books or how many hours they have spent reading.

For each 20 minutes, 50 pages or one book, the reader gets to move one space on the reading log. Once a child has moved five spaces, they receive a free pass to the Lied Discovery Children's Museum and a bag to carry books in. For 10 spaces the reader receives a Dairy Queen coupon good for one free small ice cream cone and an entry into the grand prize drawing. The grand prize is four round-trip airline tickets to anywhere Southwest Airlines flies.

For moving 15 spaces, the children receive a lighted magic wand, and for moving 20 spaces, the readers receive a gold medal and one more entry into the grand prize drawing.

In the teen program, the children complete a scavenger hunt by using the library district's databases. For each correct entry they submit, they will be entered into a drawing for a free MP3 player. Teens also have the option of writing a book review, and for doing so they will receive a Taco Ticket from Baja Fresh.

Brown said the scavenger hunt for the teenagers is meant to help them become familiar with the library's databases, which they will most likely need sometime in their academic endeavors, and to expose them to the helpful tools that are offered, such as help with homework.

"We just want to keep kids reading," Brown said. "It's been proven that reading over the summer helps children transition into the next school year. And this (program) encourages them to keep up on their reading skills. Any reading counts, we just want them to read, and to read for fun."

Last year approximately 10,000 children participated in the program.

Throughout the summer the libraries also hold free events for children. This year's events include a meet-and-greet with children's book authors Lisa Kopelke and Gary Hogg, light-hearted introductions and instructions on belly dancing, heraldry, magic and a Harry Potter potions class.

A list of libraries in the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District and additional information on Book Your Magical Journey Summer Reading Program and events can be found at www.lvccld.org.