As school’s about to end and summer begins, many kids are looking forward to swimming pools, beaches, ball diamonds and video games.
Their teachers hope they’ll also crack a book once in a while. Marissa Gebhard is communications manager at the St. Joseph County Public Library. She recalled a three-year study that found summer reading leaves kids in a better spot academically the next school year.
“Students who participated in a summer reading program at a public library demonstrated a higher reading achievement than students who did not participate,” Gebhard said. “I think it is really important to encourage kids to participate in summer reading and if they sign up for our Summer Reading program, it’s a ton of fun.”
Gebhardt says the library has done some fund-raising to really beef up its Summer Reading Club this year, which runs from June 1 through the end of July.
The library invites the public to a kickoff party in the Main Library’s courtyard on Friday June 2 from 5 to 8 p.m. To learn more and sign up, you can find the Summer Reading Club on the “Programs and Events” page on the library’s website, sjcpl.org.
