The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Summer reading kicks off at beach
Books, building on tap for next 2 months
Summer in Lorain County means more sunshine, warm weather and time to get lost in the pages of a good book.
The Lorain Public Library System on June 3 had its Beach Party Kickoff for this year’s Summer Library Program.
The Lorain library system has had a summer reading program for at least 20 years, said Elaine Betting, library public services coordinator for youth and outreach services.
“We serve everybody, so as soon as you are born, you can participate in summer reading,”
Betting said.
Parents of infants can get board books, with colorful pictures and covers and pages made of cardboard so babies can’t tear them. There also are adult activities for summer readers.
But many of the beach partiers were youths at or near the end of the school year.
Participation varies, but in 2016 the library had about 2,000 youths read across its service district in Lorain, Avon, Columbia Station, Sheffield Lake and North Ridgeville. That led to the library giving away more than 8,000 free books last year, Betting said.
This year there are 37 “challenges,” or tasks and activities dedicated to reading, writing, counting and more.
When youths read or are read to for five hours, and do five activities, they qualify to start building their own libraries by winning free books. Participants can get up to three books during the summer.
The Beach Party Kickoff was at Lorain’s Lakeview Park. It was the ninth annual party at the park and it can draw 300 to 600 people, along with librarians, teen volunteers and Friends of Lorain County Metro Parks.
The theme for 2017 is “Build a Better World.” The kickoff party had activities for imaginative construction, such as Lego blocks, make-and-take bird feeders and tower construction kits with toothpicks and pieces of foam pool noodles.
The Lorain library system is part of the Collaborative Summer Library Program, a national initiative of libraries joining to share themes and materials for low-cost but effective summer reading programs.
Alina Jones, 8, an upcoming third grader at Copopa Elementary School in Columbia Station, will participate this year, said her mother, Sarah.
At her young age, Alina already has earned about 20 books through summer reading over the years, her mother said. Alina said her favorite books are the “I Survived” series of fiction books about a boy survivor of historical events.
The best part is “just keeping her reading through the summer when school’s out, and the great activities that we have,” Sarah Jones said. “And she loves to read because of it.”
Another participant will be Mariah Rico, 11, of Lorain, said her grandmother, Sandra Torres.
It was Mariah’s first Beach Party Kickoff. “She was so excited, she said hurry up with breakfast and let’s go,” Torres said. But summer reading is not new to the family, said Torres said, because her own children would earn free pizza certificates through the “Book It” program.
Mariah said she already is a fan of children’s literature favorite characters Junie B. Jones and Harry Potter. She reads books and other family members read to her sister, Mila Figueroa, 1, Torres said.
“That’s very important,” Torres said. “We read to them, and we have her (Mariah) go in the room and read something every day. I tell her, the more you read, the smarter you become.
“Reading is important,” she said.
For anyone interested, participants do not need a library card. They also do not need to be residents of the Lorain library communities; Betting noted some children who come to the area to visit grandparents will join the program.
The library asks young readers to pick one library to log their reading and activities because it’s easier to for the youths and librarians to keep track of the records.