Kids can start a summer reading adventure
As the days get longer and warmer and the end of the school year draws near I start to feel nostalgic for my own childhood.
Aside from the odd family road trip up North or over to Nelson on the Interislander, there were weeks on end of sunny days and although I missed seeing my school friends daily, as one of three kids there was always somebody to play with, annoy, or be annoyed by. I have fond memories of playing outside with kids from the neighbourhood, and stumbling into adventures in the native bush and fire break tracks that surrounded our suburban Hutt Valley hillside house. My own children have just come to the age of exploration and have started building their own crew of kids living nearby. They disappear together into the trees and treehouses for hide and seek and their own imaginary adventures. I really enjoy seeing their burgeoning independence as they run out the door, although the occasional tornado of neighbourhood kids through the kitchen does leave our cupboards a bit bare.
With adventure in mind, if you’re a gen X or millennial like me, you’re sure to
remember the thrill of reading and re-reading a Choose-YourOwn-Adventure or Pick-a-Path book, exploring every possibility until you were satisfied with a happy ending or a thrillingly disastrous one! Getting to make choices every few pages; do you follow the shadowy figure into the cave or run to get back up? Often I’d try to put my true self into the story, first making what I thought were the wisest choices to see where I’d end up. Then I would re-read and make braver or more reckless decisions, with neither path ending at all predictably. The frustration was part of the fun, too. Even more disappointing than an early death, was getting a happy ending on the first read through!
These school holidays we want our young explorers to choose their own adventure. Our Summer Reading Adventure is designed to be as inclusive as possible. With no registrations, it’s a simple reading programme that can be as accessible or as challenging as each individual child needs. Just pick up a card and get started! Each card will have nine activities to choose from, kids then select and complete three activities to finish a card, and can then pick up a prize. Once they complete and return two cards they’ll receive an invitation to the finale, but the adventure continues as many times as you like, just like a ChooseYour-Own-Adventure book. Our selection of themed cards includes, a Wild Adventure, a Mystery Adventure, a Fantastic Adventure, and an Out of this World Adventure, with activities to entice even stubborn non-readers into a bit of summer holiday literacy. The Summer Reading Adventure begins December 12. Cards available at Levin, Shannon and Foxton libraries.