By Danny Federico Riverbend News
Ready to begin a new chapter over summer break? Then, join the Lafayette County Public Library's 2021 Summer Reading Program! This summer reading program is completely free and will feature four challenge categories challenges for children, teens and even infants to participate in, along with two different contests. The goal is to encourage reading for fun during summer break, with a little incentive thrown in as well.
Starting on Tuesday, June 1, three reading challenge categories will be available until Saturday, July 31: a Children Summer Reading Challenge, for kids ages four to 10; a Teen Summer Reading Challenge, for kids and teens ages 11 to 18 and even a Read with Baby Summer Challenge, for newborns to three-year-olds.
For the children and teen summer reading challenges, youth will be able to participate from home by using the library's ebook and audiobooks apps, cloudLibrary and Overdrive to access reading materials. The goal for the reading challenges is not to read a certain number of books, but rather a certain number of hours. Kids have to record 15 hours of reading through June and July, while teens have to record a total of 50 hours. Using a reading log, youth will log the number of hours they've read until they complete the challenge. Each completed reading log will be entered in a drawing for a $25 Visa gift card.
Reading logs can be sent to participants through email, or they can pick up a paper log directly from the library. To get kids started, here are some librarian recommended books to try: Eyes That Kiss in the Corners by Joanna Ho, Superbuns! by Diane Kredensor and I Don't Want to Be a Frog! by Devorah Petty. For teens, a few recommended books to start with include: Lore by Aledandra Bracken, How I Became a Spy by Deborah Hopkinson and Three Things I Know Are True by Betty Culley.
Children and teens aren't the only ones who have a challenge, though. The Lafayette County Public Library is also having a Read with Baby Summer Challenge. For this challenge, parents or caregivers will receive a game sheet with instructions and different activities to do with their baby or toddler, which are designed to help them grow and learn. Like the challenge for children and teens, once all the activities are completed, they can be turned back in for a chance to win a $25 Visa gift card.
Aside from reading challenges, there will also be a Tik Tok Challenge for teens ages 13 to 18 to participate in. Using Tik Tok, teens will create their own book trailer for any book of their choosing, with the goal being to encourage other teens to check out the book in the trailer. Teens will post their videos on Tik Tok with the hashtag #booktrailerchallenge. The winner of the challenge will receive a $25 Visa gift card. Let's see who can make the most interesting book trailer!
The deadline to register for these three challenges is Friday, May 28.
If challenges aren't their style, youth will also have the chance to take part in two different contests. The Tales and Tails Short Story Contest will run from Monday, May 31, to Monday, June 28. This contest, which is available for kids, teens and even adults, allows each participant the opportunity to flex their creative story muscles. Each short story has to be written in 1,000 words or less. The theme, "Tales and Tails," allows a wide range for what each story can be about. The registration deadline for the Tales and Tails Short Story Contest is Friday, May 28. The winners of the kids and teens category will receive $25 Visa gift cards, while the winner of the adult category will receive a $50 Visa gift card.
An art contest entitled "Paint Your Tale," will also be available for kids, teens and adults to participate in. This contest, which will run from Monday, June 21, to Monday, July 26, will also allow participants to get creative. The registration deadline for this contest is Friday, June 18. Winners of the kids and teens category will receive $25 Visa gift cards, while the winner of the adult category will receive a $50 Visa gift card.
Gift cards aren't the only prizes being offered, though. Aside from the main prizes, the library will also be giving out incentives to the participants. For babies and parents, these incentives include items such as onesies and baby board books. For kids and teens, incentives include items such as bubble wands, galaxy slime, jump ropes, bookmarks and journals.
Registration for these fun challenges and contests began Monday, April 26. To register or to learn more about the Tails and Tales Summer Reading Program, call the Lafayette County Public Library at (386) 294-1021.
In addition, the library offers free events that don't require registration. Beginning Monday, June 7 through Thursday, July 22, free lunches sponsored by the Lafayette County School District's Summer Lunch Program will be available for all ages. These free lunches will be available at the Lafayette County Public Library every Monday and Thursday.
Don't forget, the library also offers Children's Story Time on their Facebook page every Wednesday, beginning at 11:15 a.m. and Family Craft Fun on Zoom every Friday, beginning at 4 p.m., for children ages four and up.
The Lafayette County Public Library is located at 120 NE Crawford St., in Mayo.