Reading rocks! Fun for kids and adults
BY: KAYLA PERKINS
The East Baton Rouge Parish Library (EBRPL) helps children, teens and adults establish, strengthen and enjoy their love for literature. Many of us recall summers full of swimming, bike riding, picnics and summer reading programs at the public library. We loved to read and we spent warm evenings and rainy days curled up with a wonder-filled book. Building a habit of reading laid the foundation for academic and lifelong success. But that’s not the case for every home.
When students don’t practice their reading skills over the summer, they lose ground, or as reading specialists say, they experience the “summer slide.” This regression is totally preventable, since any resident of the parish can borrow books from the public library at no cost. Even kids whose parents can’t go with them to get a library card still can come into our library branches to find a good book and a comfy place to relax and read on a hot summer’s day or even check out an e-book from home.
The Library’s annual Summer Reading Program helps encourage readers of all ages to stay motivated in getting their pages turning. This year’s theme is Libraries ROCK! The program is designed for children from birth to age 11, with special incentives every week. For reading a minimum of five books, each participating child can receive a reading certificate, coupons from area merchants and their choice of a book to take home. They also will be entered into a drawing to win a $50 Wal-Mart or Target gift card, or $50 of school supplies.
And that’s not all. Nearly every day of the summer is jammed-packed with FREE fun with special performers and programs like visits from Harvey Rabbit & Friends, Farmer Minor & Daisy the Reading Pig, the Louisiana Sinfonietta and many others. Stop by any EBRPL location to sign up!
Did you know that participating in the Summer Reading Program can help teens develop high levels of literacy that are needed for higher education and future employment? It also helps prepare students for the reading comprehension portions included in most standardized tests. Teens going into grades 6-12 are invited to join the Teen Summer Reading Program by signing up in the Teen Section at any EBRPL location and picking up their reading log.
To complete the program, teens should read any six regular books, or 18 graphic novels, to receive six Library Bucks, a drawstring backpack and a pair of earbuds. Plus, if they keep reading, teen readers will be entered into the weekly prize drawing. Every three regular books or nine graphic novels results in an entry into the drawing for cool prizes like autographed books, virtual reality headsets and more. The top teen reader across East Baton Rouge Parish will receive a Kindle Fire Tablet bundle!
Why should kids and teens have all the fun this summer? We’ve got a Summer Reading Program designed just for adults ages 18 and older. Enjoy programming on a variety of topics that aim to enrich your Library experience. After reading a minimum of three books, adults can submit their list of completed titles to receive a summer prize pack. For more information about the 2018 Summer Reading Program for all ages, contact your Library branch directly, or visit us online at www.ebrpl.com.
Kayla Perkins is the Public Relations Director at the East Baton Rouge Parish Library. A native of Baton Rouge, Perkins holds both a Bachelor of Art and a Master of Art in Mass Communication from Southern University. Perkins has worked for the Library for more than six years and is directly responsible for composing, editing and producing the monthly newsletter The Source, which has a distribution of more than 8,000 each month. Perkins also serves as the in-house reporter for “Beyond the Stacks” in the Library’s monthly television show, The Library Road Show
