Summer reading for fun

Had most of 2020 gone as planned, a day in the life of an average child would have meant actual classrooms, sport, plays and birthday parties where kids ate too much cake. There would have been jokes and whispers in hallways and singing in assemblies.

Time with other children is a crucial piece of growing up. Relationships with peers are how kids learn about cooperation, trust, and loyalty, as well as how to not just receive support from their parents, but also give it to others. Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic and the measures that parents, schools, and governments have had to put in place to limit its spread, millions of children across the world could be missing out on friendship. We have worked very hard and are very lucky here in New Zealand, to have more freedom than most countries in the world where the pandemic is prevalent. Even so, over the quickly approaching summer holiday the library is a great place to meet up with other children and families, chill out, read or take part in the daily crafts that take place then.

One of the earliest and most noticeable changes seen during the Covid-19 lockdown

was how we consume media — and especially how we read.

People tend to find comfort in certain books, and reading habits and genre preferences can change during periods of stress. This helps to explain why much genre fiction has roots in times of significant social, political or economic upheaval.

Many people with children reported that their reading time had increased generally because of their shared reading with children.

Thanks to libraries, reading is one of the most accessible, affordable and creative activities. Reading for pleasure is strongly influenced by relationships between children and their carers, teachers and of course, librarians. Reading aloud to children also helps them to understand different topics about the world and everyday life.

Librarians collaborate with teachers, parents and wha¯nau to help stimulate a reading culture within the community. It is well recognised that children’s reading levels can often slip over the summer when they are on holiday. Halting the summer slide can be as simple as encouraging kids to read over the summer break. The library does its part by providing a free reading focused programme during the summer holidays. All that is required is to be a member of the library.

Celebrate Summer Reading aims to encourage and promote books, libraries, and the fun of reading to children through incentive awards, activities and storytellers.

All of this is free of charge from libraries in the Eastern and Central Region thanks to the Eastern and Central Community Trust.

Registrations for the programme take place from Monday, November 23. The programme runs from December 7 to January 15. Pop into your local library or go online for details.