Summer is here and the Edmonton Public Library wants to reward people for reading books by offering contests for bookworms of every age.
The prizes range from curated book gift baskets to gift cards to local shops and a private group cooking class.
Also, while supplies last, kids who register for the program will receive two general admission tickets to K-Days.
All summer reading programs run by the EPL go from June 22 to Aug. 24.
Kids
Kids 12 and under have to read for six hours and track their progress. Every six hours of reading means another entry into the grand prize draw.
There are two ways to track and submit reading time: on paper (reading log available at EPL branches) or online if you can’t make it to an EPL branch.
There are weekly book prizes as well as three grand prizes, including a Nintendo Switch OLED – Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Bundle; ThinkFun Escape the Room and Chris Hadfield’s autographed book – The Darkest Dark; and ThinkFun Laser Maze and Lego Gear Bots and Gadgets.
“A big part of encouraging children to read throughout the summer is to prevent what’s known as the summer slide,” library assistant Michelle Truong said. “Kids have worked so hard all throughout the school year to develop their reading … (and so) the two months that they’re off, we don’t want them to lose that progress.”
Teens and adults
Kids don’t get all the fun. The EPL also runs Summer Starts reading contests for teens and adults.
“Adults, whether they have children who are in the summer reading program already or they’re just looking to foster their own love of reading — adults and teens as well — they can participate in this program,” Truong said.
Every seven hours of reading and two activities completed earns you another prize entry.
“The grand prize is a private kitchen lesson within our teaching kitchen here at Stanley A. Milner Library,” Truong said. “It’s for up to 12 people. So that’s a very cool opportunity not only to get into the kitchen but also to have 11 of your friends with you as well.
“You have to read seven hours and then participate in two activities on the tracking sheet, and then you’ll get a chance to enter for that grand prize but also a few other prizes — signed copies of books from our former forward-thinking speakers as well as gift cards to local businesses such as Doughnut Party.”
You can pick up your Summer Reads ’24 tracking sheet at any EPL location or download a copy online. Bring your completed activity sheet back to an EPL branch to have your name entered to win one of this year’s prizes.
Or, if you want to track your reading online, register here with your library card number and PIN to track your reading hours and completed activities. You’ll automatically be entered to win one prize for every seven hours of reading and two activities completed.
Daycares and day homes
There’s a special program for daycares and day homes this summer.
The EPL is hoping to encourage young children, especially those five and under, to experience the joys of reading. Kids can track their progress by colouring sections of a poster. Once they have completed it — four hours total — they can submit their poster to enter the prize draw.
“We are encouraging them to use this fun poster that we developed to track their reading minutes,” community librarian Heather McMullin said. “And once they’ve read four hours, they can enter their poster in the contest. And, at the end of the summer, we’ll have a grand prize draw for a winning child-care centre. They’re going to receive a bundle of librarian-curated books specifically targeted for their centre.”
McMullin said librarians really encourage a balance of screen time and print reading.
“We know that those positive experiences with print books are really formative and really help form a solid base for their school years and their academic success,” she said.
“It’s so important to help them be ready for school, to already consider reading as a treat, to have it be a fun experience, to have a positive view of reading even before they can actually read themselves.”
Daycare and day home operators who would like to participate can download the reading tracker poster online at EPL’s website under the “services for educators” section or pick some up at an EPL branch.
“We’re kind of picturing that kids would be able to see the poster in their room and they would be excited to read a story because then they could watch one of the planets or stars get coloured in and see the progress as they read more and more through the summer,” McMullin added.